Can't see old jpeg files on CD

This is a weird one.I found a few CDs from 2001 that contained JPEG files from an old digital camera. I wanted to add them to my media files on my Homeserver for safe keeping. The CDs open fine but no files are viewable (even hidden). I popped these in to my Windows7 computer and the same thing. Nothing. I can see the size of the CDs and they are locked and not writeable. I must of been using XP back when I created the CDs. Never had any problems with the hardware that I can remember. I'm kinda bummed since some of these are photos of when I first my my wife and our first child. ;(Anyone run accross this issue? Any ideas of how to resurect the files? I guess I could try running XP from a Virtual Desktop?Thanks.Hugh

Hello hughg! Welcome to the Windows 7 Forums website.

Try this program it's free to use. CDCheck 3.1

Download it here: http://www.softwarepatch.com/software/cd-recovery.html

Description
As your CD and DVD collection grows, there are two important problems you face - do your CDs and DVDs still work? What can you do when a CD or DVD starts to have problems? These are crucial questions since the discs are used to store valuable files like email, home movies, photographs, business/tax records and music. The solution is to use a free program like CDCheck. It can scan most CDs in a few minutes to tell you if the data is OK - this way, you don't have to find out the hard way that there is a problem. Plus you can use the time it takes for a scan to complete as indicator of the CD or DVDs overall health - even though files may not be recorded as damaged, slower results normally indicate a CD that is on the way out (expect longer times if there are more files on the CD).

If a CD or DVD is showing files with damage or you can no longer read a file in a drive, CDCheck can be switched to recovery mode and make a full sweep of the CD or DVD, recovering lost files along the way. When parts of a file can't be fully recovered, the program will still recover any salvageable fragments. Many file formats such as Zip, TIFF and JPEG can still be used if incomplete (success of this technique varies, depending on the damage). Most zip tools have a 'repair archive' function, and a standard graphics editor can help repair damage to photographs caused by missing fragments.

Since CDCheck is freeware (free for personal use) and a small download, it is worth getting a copy and occasionally using it on your CD or DVD collection. Note: the authors state that you should request a free license from CDCheck online (you must register as a CDCheck online user, activate your account, login to CDCheck online and request free license).

Many, I would go so far as to say most people, don't set CD/DVD burns up to verify afterwords; it is possible that all that was written was the file structure and not the files themselves.

Another possibility is that the CD was written without the trailing record (ie left open for additional files to be added later) in which case the original burner should be able to read the files if you still have it.

Let us know if Nibs item works. Might be able to "snowball" more ideas.

If those CD's were left open, that is to allow more files to be written, they would need to be closed out by the system they were made with (XP)

I have used a program called Isobuster to get files from XP created disks. I have the paid for version but the free one works as well.

http://www.isobuster.com/isobusterdownload.php

Try an Ubuntu live CD and see if the CD can be read. You can also try making an .iso with Imgburn of the CD, then extracting said .iso with 7-zip.