Need Help Recovering Corrupt Video files and got into an Accident

[AcTSX97]

Hi all,

I am here on behalf of my dad. He is a truck driver and recently he t-boned a lady. He doesn't know whether he ran the light or not given how fast the situation was. When I checked the dash cam I noticed that the video clips prior to his accident and after the accident were there but not the accident itself. That being said, the camera didn't record him driving most of the way to where the accident occurred - something I found weird but dismissed a while back when I noticed it initially; however now that an accident has occurred there is no footage and has rendered having the camera useless. He has a vantrue X1 and an adata 8gb memory card.

Upon reading the forum, it appears that these memory cards need to be formatted periodically. That is something I never did nor did I ever know. I also used recuva on my brothers surface book to try and recover any lost files. It recovered a bunch but nothing plays. They are in .MOV format and the computer says the files may be corrupt or that the file type is not supported. I downloaded additional media players like quick time as well as VLC to no avail. I also tried EaseUS to recover but no such help found there either in getting the files to work. I did my homework and discovered that the files may be so corrupt that the header or something can be missing or something along those lines. I don't have the time since it is approaching exams here in university and I also use a macbook pro which makes it difficult to find compatible programs.

So, all that being said, I am hoping there is a kind soul here who is willing to help try and recover these files since he needs them before the end of December or earlier if at all possible. I am willing to provide what I think is a reasonable $50CAD to whoever is able to get me that/those file(s) in working order. If you know where I can go to get this done, that helps too.

Thanks for taking the time to read my dilemma.

 

[jokiin]

did you try playing the broken files in the camera, this can sometimes repair the header info and make the file playable on other devices

 

[AcTSX97]

did you try playing the broken files in the camera, this can sometimes repair the header info and make the file playable on other devices

No, I have not tried that. On the camera, the broken files never even showed up on the camera. It was only after recovering them was I able to see that they existed. What would be the procedure in which to play them on the camera? would I transfer the recovered files on the memory card and then try it that way? Additionally, I am away from home until the weekend (but I have his card), so would I be able to play it in my dash cam (the original dash cam 4sk98)?

Thanks.

 

[jokiin]

might not work if they're not showing up, the camera he has is using a lower end chipset so may not support that function, won't work on yours either

 

[AcTSX97]

might not work if they're not showing up, the camera he has is using a lower end chipset so may not support that function, won't work on yours either

hmm, do you have any suggestions as to what I can do? Hopefully other users can contribute if they have further knowledge on the topic. Thanks for your insight thus far though.

 

[jokiin]

are you sure that the files that you have recovered are the ones you're looking for, there will always be overwritten files on the card by nature of the way these cameras work

 

[kamkar]

Registrator viewer have a file repair feature i have used successful a couple of times.

You select the broken file RV then say it might be able to repair it if you give it a working file from the same camera to use as a guideline.
Street guardian have the latest version available of RV in theur support section, the author of that fine little pice of software sadly died a while back in a MC accident.

 

[AcTSX97]

are you sure that the files that you have recovered are the ones you're looking for, there will always be overwritten files on the card by nature of the way these cameras work

Unfortunately, I am not sure that they are. I feel like since there are so many newly recovered files, they may be from other occasions as well. There is no real way to figure it out unless all the corrupt files are sorted. We might have to take the loss on this one. I think I will upgrade his memory card as well as format on a monthly basis as well going forward. If nothing else, this served as a learning experience.

Registrator viewer have a file repair feature i have used successful a couple of times.

You select the broken file RV then say it might be able to repair it if you give it a working file from the same camera to use as a guideline.
Street guardian have the latest version available of RV in theur support section, the author of that fine little pice of software sadly died a while back in a MC accident.

hmm, I will check out that software. I did try one like it to no avail. And that is unfortunate to hear!

 

[kamkar]

The RV will flag any broken files when you start it, if you have the memory card in a reader the first thing RV will do is look for files and sort them into driving sessions.
The broken files will get a yellow triangle i think it is with a ! in it, upon trying to play such a file RV will say it might be able to fix it if you direct it to a working file from the same camera ( dont have to be the same driving session or time/date )
It then chew a little on it and for me spit out a repaired file that work.

 

[AcTSX97]

The RV will flag any broken files when you start it, if you have the memory card in a reader the first thing RV will do is look for files and sort them into driving sessions.
The broken files will get a yellow triangle i think it is with a ! in it, upon trying to play such a file RV will say it might be able to fix it if you direct it to a working file from the same camera ( dont have to be the same driving session or time/date )
It then chew a little on it and for me spit out a repaired file that work.

Thanks for your advice. I will try it out and let you know how it goes!

 

[viofo]

It is camera based on novatek chipset platform?
If it is and you can share to me, I will try with Novatek broken file recover tool.

 

[AcTSX97]

It is camera based on novatek chipset platform?
If it is and you can share to me, I will try with Novatek broken file recover tool.

Thanks for reaching out. Sorry for my late response as well; it is exams so I've been a little pre-occupied. And yes the chipset is Novatek. What is your email so i can send you the files?

 

[jokiin]

The files will be too large to email but while you're waiting for a reply you can upload the files to a file host and then you can email the links to the files when ready

 

[AcTSX97]

The files will be too large to email but while you're waiting for a reply you can upload the files to a file host and then you can email the links to the files when ready

thanks for the heads up. Just a thought, but would putting the files into a zip format be another alternative so that way i can send him the compressed files?

 

[jokiin]

No, video files won't compress by any appreciable amount

 

[AcTSX97]

No, video files won't compress by any appreciable amount

Oh okay lol. Clearly i'm not at all familiar with this stuff! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[viofo]

thanks for the heads up. Just a thought, but would putting the files into a zip format be another alternative so that way i can send him the compressed files?

PM sent, please check.

 

[Leo_SF]

I know this is an old thread....

Don't the files during the accident get written/saved into a separate folder?

Some dashcams need you to press a button to save a critical file from being overwritten but don't some dashcams automatically save the accidents when the Gs exceed a preset value(similar to a park guard?)...

In any case, I hope OP was able to figure this out...

 

[kamkar]

Some / all do if you have G-sensor on, but some cameras you cant tweak the G-sensor good enough so you will get a lot of false recordings like potholes / road gaps and so on, and in the old days at least that was a problem as they could fill up a entire memory card, or the space assigned for event files.
Today even event files should get recycled if the folder fill up, which i think are a good idea.
I would much prefer to just use the manual event button for the little things i am sure i will notice anyway, for the bigger things where you might be knocked out, well with a decent sized memory card the regular recordings should still have the accident.
I doubt your car will remain powered for hours at a accident scene, or get powered up for hours where ever the wreck get towed to.
I have given instructions to friend / family to retrieve all my memory cards in case of a big event, the rest / little things i will handle myself.

 

[SawMaster]

Sometimes the G-sensor can be set where only a solid crash will activate it, but it's best to not place a lot of faith in it functioning correctly. And many can't be set this way but will activate too often and fill your card with locked files. Then nothing will be recorded until you delete those first. Some cams limit the space locked files can take and some don't. No cam should overwrite locked files. I use large cards so that if I am unable to deal with the cams, someone else will cut the power before anything is overwritten when they tow the vehicle away.

More than a few people have had file recovery problems after a hard crash. The cause can be loose or dirty contacts for the card or the power cable, or voltage spikes/interruptions during the crash. Much of the time damaged files can be recovered in whole or part, but sometimes you just run out of luck. You can also have a cam problem causing it to not be saving the last file correctly; this is why you should check card and cam regularly.

There are various tools and methods for file repair and recovery reaching to a level where only a government or specialist can afford them, but there has to be something on the card for any of them to work, and as often as not when we hear of a cam that didn't record a crash, the cam hadn't been working before it happened, and then nothing can be done. Monitor and maintain your cams and you will likely be fine.

Phil