Why would a home created cd wipe itself?

Is there any way of getting the documents back?

Not usually...ehmm...at all.

You could try a program such as Bad Copy Pro, which I have had success with in the past

Chances are very good that the CD never was burned properly in the first place. Always check the CD's contents immediately after doing the burn. I've had this happen to me using Nero and other burning programs.

Usually a reboot repairs the problem. If not, Uninstall and then reinstall your burning program.

Actually WinCrazy the CD has been in use for the last 3.5 years, hence my concern about the loss of all my work.

However thanks to Hengis' suggestion about BadCopyPro, I was able to get most of the files back,

.................some i can't open - says something about needing to convert something for the Word doc's but when I put in cd and search for it, it won't work........any suggestions?

Thanks Hengis

Good to hear

Can you give us the exact message please?

Initial message: "Microsoft Office Word needs a converter to display this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like to install it now?"

I put the cd in, it starts to install, then:

"The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable."

Then it won't find it.