How do I see the contents of a Recordable CD?

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Level 1

9 points

How do I see the contents of a Recordable CD?

My doctor gave me a CD that should contain my X-rays, but on my MacBook, it's showing 0 items.

FYI, I'm on a MacBook Pro, running Monterey version 12.6.2. I'm using an external disc drive that's reliably worked in the recent past.

Upon inserting the disc, it appears on my desktop as "Untitled CD.fpbf" and upon opening it in Finder, a title bar appears at the top saying "Recordable CD" and a Burn button on the right. But the rest of the Finder window is blank, as if the CD has no contents at all.

So either my Mac can't read the CD, or this is a blank disc. I'm assuming it's the first option, since my doctor's office uses PC's.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.2

Posted on Jan 26, 2023 7:49 AM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

56,156 points

Jan 26, 2023 4:08 PM in response to dbeadle511

dbeadle511 wrote:

Is it likely that a Windows computer would be able to read the files, or is it more a function of missing software?

It is unfortunately a Windows world....every other OS is a second class citizen at best.

I have seen a post on these forums where a contributor mentioned some software that is able to read these medical CDs, but I don't recall the software. A quick search for "macOS how to read medical cd .fpbf" results in this article which mentions you need to use a DICOM Viewer app such as OsirixMD, HOROS Project, and Miele-LXIV. According to the article these apps are all based on the same open source technology, but with different features. All are supposedly optimized for Apple Silicon as well.

https://www.exploringchiropractic.com/blog/2021/11/how-to-open-digital-x-ray-images-on-your-mac

Edit: Oops, made a mistake in the search criteria, but it still got it right.

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Answer 2

dbeadle511 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 26, 2023 2:51 PM in response to babowa

I thought that might be the case. It's still strange that the files, even unreadable ones, are invisible in Finder. It makes me wonder what the point is to have copies that I can't even see, though I suppose I could hand it to a doctor to look at in the future.

Is it likely that a Windows computer would be able to read the files, or is it more a function of missing software?

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Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,133 points

Jan 26, 2023 8:16 AM in response to dbeadle511

In my case I have never been able to read Xrays or CT scans or MRI pics on any Mac I've owned. I don't know what the file format is, but it does not show on Mac OS.

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Answer 4

dbeadle511 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 26, 2023 5:01 PM in response to HWTech

Thanks, this is extremely helpful. It seems obvious now that the files require a special software for viewing.

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How do I see the contents of a Recordable CD?

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