Can't close DVD session. Please help

I have crucial data backed up on a DVD, however I can't access the files now that I need them. The DVD is recognized as most software as "blank" or "empty", however I know the data was burnt. When I burnt the DVD, everything seemed to work including the lead-out and "close session", but apparently there was a problem that was undetected at the time.

If I open something like Nero and try to continue a multisession disc, I can choose to continue from the one "session" that was written to the disc, however I still can't add anything or close this current "open" session. Anything I try seems to give one error or another, usually something to the effect of "can not close a disc-at-once session".

Please help! I need these files badly! Thank you!

 

Have you tried the disc on a different PC? Did you try to read the disc immediately after burning it? After I burn something of great importance, I check it on the PC the did the burning, and at least one other PC just to be sure that the burn went well.... did the disc read OK once or twice, and now it doesn't read at all?

 

Sorry, it was some time ago and I don't remember. I'm pretty sure that the session was never closed properly in the first place though because it displays as "open" in Nero. Other computers show it as blank also or just sit there forever trying to read it because the session isn't closed.

Since Nero can apparently see the files, is there any way to extract them? I'm afraid ripping an ISO or something would still render the files unreadable due to the session not being closed. That's an idea though... WinRAR usually lets me open and extract from ISOs as archives, so maybe I can at least get the files out and burn a new disc...

Is there no software that can simply close an open disc-at-once session?

 

No luck ripping to an ISO because it results in a nearly zero-size file. In fact, this is how some programs like Alcohol see the disc:

 

If ISO Buster doesn't do the job try these:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/CDDVD_Diagnostic_d211.html (not free- but will tell you if the data is recoverable before you pay)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/AnyReader_d5159.html (also not free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/BadCopy_Pro_d1975.html (also not free- but like the first one, should show you the data and you need to pay to 'unlock' the recovery process)

 

ISOBuster, I didn't get a chance to try. That was my next shot as I use it anyway for other tasks, but I don't pay for the Pro version that lets you extract full UDF names, only short 8.3 ISO names.

I was finally able to extract the full DVD to an ISO by treating it as an audio disc and reading the single tiny track shown in the Alcohol screenshot. Apparently it expanded to the full 4+GB. Thanks for the help people