Freezer didn't help. Same thing this morning. Maybe it wasn't in there long enough. More likely it's DEAD.
But the recovery partition still works?
dd the whole device to an image.
Seems to. I could access the files in the recovery partition from Linux. The other partition showed the size and space used but couldn't shoe any contents.
Worth a try making an image. I'll try and find a HDD large enough when I get home and see if it will work.
Data could well be in tact just the FAT is damaged (if it still works like that for NTFS).
I think if that's all it was then GetDataBack would have done something. The drive is making funny noises too which definitely isn't a good sign.
Sounds like physical damage to actuator(s) and/or platter(s).
Definitely looks (and sounds) that way. I don't think there's much I can do with it :(
Can you run a mfg diagnostic on it, or get smart info?
Try spinrite at grc.com also available by Jim, I've had some success rescuing disks even encrypted ones.
Looks interesting. Worth a try. Thanks.