Video Files copied from DRONE storage to HDD missing!?

[jdkoch]

I shot some footage with an Autel Evo Pro II & started shooting with the on-system storage, maxed it out & switched to my SD card.

Got home & instantly copied over the footage from the drone & SD card to a folder & only the footage from the SD card is there, what can I do?

I mean it's just gone, I'm totally fine with just going back & reshooting the footage but was wondering if anyone knew something I could do to retrieve it from the onboard storage of the drone! Thank you

 

[herein2021]

I shot some footage with an Autel Evo Pro II & started shooting with the on-system storage, maxed it out & switched to my SD card.

Got home & instantly copied over the footage from the drone & SD card to a folder & only the footage from the SD card is there, what can I do?

I mean it's just gone, I'm totally fine with just going back & reshooting the footage but was wondering if anyone knew something I could do to retrieve it from the onboard storage of the drone! Thank you

Did you connect a USB cable to the drone and power it on to get the footage from the onboard storage? I cannot tell from your statement if you ever saw the actual footage as you copied it from the drone or if it is now missing after copying it to the folder.

 

[jdkoch]

Did you connect a USB cable to the drone and power it on to get the footage from the onboard storage? I cannot tell from your statement if you ever saw the actual footage as you copied it from the drone or if it is now missing after copying it to the folder.

My bad, yes I connected the drone to my computer via USB cable, located the video files from the onboard storage of the drone, Copied the files into a new folder, unfortunately I didn't check after loading the files to make sure they were there before deleting the footage from the drone.

 

[herein2021]

My bad, yes I connected the drone to my computer via USB cable, located the video files from the onboard storage of the drone, Copied the files into a new folder, unfortunately I didn't check after loading the files to make sure they were there before deleting the footage from the drone.

I would try the process one more time, I have used the onboard storage a few times and never had that problem; maybe even check the recycle bin. If this is a Windows desktop and File History is turned on you could check there as well. It sounds like the drone recorded the content properly and the files went missing sometime after copying them to your desktop. Also, if you have an Anti-Virus program or other software like that maybe it quarantined the files so I would check the AV quarantine area if you have something like that.

Last but not least; if this is a Windows machine, is it possible the folder or files are simply hidden? I would make sure hidden files and folders are set to visible at least temporarily.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

for the future, I never delete files from the memory card or from the drone. all media gets reformatted which effectively "deletes" the files and free up the space. I execute a reformat only in the field just before it is time to start recording new video. that way you know you are starting fresh and the memory card has no issues because it is newly and recently reformat and reset for use. I can't think of any good reason to delete files while at home or anytime before needing to actually use the space. I also try to offload all content as quickly as possible which will permit me to reformat just before every outing. habit I've developed over the years.

 

[herein2021]

for the future, I never delete files from the memory card or from the drone. all media gets reformatted which effectively "deletes" the files and free up the space. I execute a reformat only in the field just before it is time to start recording new video. that way you know you are starting fresh and the memory card has no issues because it is newly and recently reformat and reset for use. I can't think of any good reason to delete files while at home or anytime before needing to actually use the space. I also try to offload all content as quickly as possible which will permit me to reformat just before every outing. habit I've developed over the years.

I do something similar when it comes to camera equipment that only has a single memory card. For drones I copy the footage from the memory card and then typically format the card before it takes off at the next job site or sometimes I leave whatever is already on the card there since I rarely film more than a few GB at a time with the drone.

For equipment like my handheld cameras that all have dual slots, I cut the footage from the card in the reader which deletes the footage from the card but I have a backup card still in the camera in case something happens. I then format both cards when I am preparing my equipment for my next project which still gives me plenty of overlap in storage in case something goes wrong.

I also have File History enabled in my Windows Desktop and it is set to backup every hour, so within an hr or two of returning to the office I typically have at least 3 copies of the footage. For really high value projects I backup the memory cards at the project site using a laptop so I will have at least 3 copies of the footage before I even leave the jobsite.