Well, I hope I never need to use this on one of my own systems, but this could really save the day or make you the hero deserving lots of $$ if you recover someone else\'s data for them.
 
One of the top-rated recovery tools for free is called R-Linux from R-tools Technology Inc.
 
Overview of what it is:

R-Linux is a free file recovery utility for the Ext2FS file system used in the Linux OS and several Unixes. R-Linux uses InteligentScan technology and flexible parameter settings that give you real control over the fastest data recovery ever seen. It recovers files from existing logical disks even when file records are lost. However, there is no any network capabilities or ability to reconstruct damaged RAIDs or stripe sets in R-Linux.

 
Yes, it runs on windows under WinNT/2000/XP/2003, so just mount the affected drive as a slave, download the free software, and go to town.
 
If anyone has used this (hands-on experience) please let us know.

well i never a  hand to linux from windoze