Hi,
Please download Recover My Files from
www.recovermyfiles.com. There are two options....
The first thing you should try is a "Complete Format Recover" of the "physical drive". Search only for the default selected file types (dont add other file types to the search, particularly MP3, as you will only slow it down). At the end of the search your old partition (or whats left of it) will be displayed in the Recover My Files results screen. Click on the files found to preview their content.
The problem with this method is that it is using the Windows Master File Table (MFT) records, which as you describe, may be so screwed around that they now point to the wrong data.
The next thing to try is a search for files by their file structure. Go to the main screen of Recover My Files, click on the OPTIONS button, and in the SEARCH tab put a tick in the box for searching for "lost" files (turn search for deleted files off). Now run a "Complete File Search" of the drive for selected file types (Run a separate search form MP3 and video files as these are the most resource intensive to find).
A search for lost files will find files by their file structure, eg. header and footer. The original name will not be recovered and the files will be named "Recovered.....". Click on the files in the results screen to preview their content.
Are there a number of CHKDSK files on your PC? They may contain valuable data that can still be recovered.
Let me know how it goes and I can give you further instructions.