diff --git a/scripts/exporter/recalbox_exporter.py b/scripts/exporter/recalbox_exporter.py
index 0647bcb8..490ae90b 100644
--- a/scripts/exporter/recalbox_exporter.py
+++ b/scripts/exporter/recalbox_exporter.py
@@ -222,6 +222,19 @@ class Exporter(BaseExporter):
             return False
         return super().states(fe, field_name)
 
+    def lands(self, fe: NativeFile) -> bool:
+        """An element of theirs the render cannot rewrite is still in the
+        file, written back as Recalbox wrote it."""
+        return self.writable(fe) or id(fe) in getattr(self, "_held_whole", {})
+
+    def withheld(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Each element kept as written because the truth names no md5."""
+        return [
+            f"{label} keeps its md5: the truth accepts another dump and "
+            "names no md5 for it, which es_bios.xsd requires"
+            for label in sorted(getattr(self, "_held_whole", {}).values())
+        ]
+
     @classmethod
     def writable(cls, fe: NativeFile, require: str = "") -> bool:
         """es_bios.xsd makes md5 and core required: without them, no element.
@@ -272,6 +285,21 @@ class Exporter(BaseExporter):
                     for s in root.iter("system")
                 ]
 
+        # Elements of theirs written back as they stand, by (platform, path).
+        held = {
+            (platform, " ".join(child.get("path", "").split()))
+            for platform, _, children in theirs
+            for child in children
+            if isinstance(child, dict)
+        }
+        self._held_whole = {
+            id(fe): f"{system.native_id}/{self._path(fe)}"
+            for system in systems.values()
+            for fe in system.files
+            if fe.platform is not None
+            and not self.writable(fe)
+            and (system.native_id, " ".join(self._path(fe).split())) in held
+        }
         ours: dict[str, tuple[NativeSystem, dict[str, tuple[NativeFile, str]]]] = {}
         for system in systems.values():
             writable = [fe for fe in system.files if self.writable(fe)]
diff --git a/tests/test_exporters.py b/tests/test_exporters.py
index 3c7f4dfc..72025477 100644
--- a/tests/test_exporters.py
+++ b/tests/test_exporters.py
@@ -1169,6 +1169,32 @@ class RecalboxExport(unittest.TestCase):
             [("cdimono1.zip", False, True)],
         )
 
+    def test_an_element_kept_as_written_is_not_counted_lost(self):
+        """The truth takes the entry on sha1 and size and names no md5: the
+        element is written back whole, and the run counted it a platform
+        entry the format cannot keep."""
+        scraped = {"systems": {"x": {"native_id": "x", "files": [{
+            "name": "a.bin", "destination": "x/a.bin", "md5": "a" * 32, "size": 100,
+            "native_system": "x", "core": "libretro/foo", "required": True,
+        }]}}}
+        truth = {"systems": {"x": {"files": [{
+            "name": "a.bin", "path": "x/a.bin", "sha1": "b" * 40, "size": 200,
+            "required": True, "_cores": ["foo"],
+        }]}}}
+        element = f'    <bios path="x/a.bin" md5="{"a" * 32}" core="libretro/foo" />'
+        original = (
+            '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>\n<biosList>\n'
+            f'  <system fullname="X" platform="x">\n{element}\n  </system>\n</biosList>\n'
+        )
+        systems, report = build_native_model(truth, scraped)
+        exporter = discover_exporters()["recalbox"]()
+        produced = exporter.render(systems, report, {"es_bios.xml": original}, None)
+        self.assertIn(element, produced["es_bios.xml"])
+        fe = next(fe for s in systems.values() for fe in s.files)
+        self.assertTrue(exporter.lands(fe))
+        self.assertEqual(landed_changes(exporter, systems).records, [])
+        self.assertEqual(len(exporter.withheld()), 1)
+
     def test_a_truncated_export_is_reported(self):
         exporter, systems, _ = self._render()
         empty = {