How do I restore files from C:/Backup?

I have a few videos of my family that i need to recover for a funeral…I can physically go into the folder and click the file to try to open it, but the video player does not register it, I've also tried to drag the file out of the folder and try to play it but to no avail…Somone please help me recover these precious moments?
I have windows XP on a dell dimension 4300 (kinda old)
The file is an MPEG-4, most ipods use this as a standard format i believe.
Also, it's not just that i need a new program, all the files in my backup folder wont seem to work…The txt files even come up as gibberish in word pad…Do i need to restore via a program?

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