When it happened to me in June, someone (Civil Disobedient?) told me to try putting it in the freezer and then trying to get data off it, but it was already too late. I wish I had tried the freezer trick. Give it a try.

And I sent you an email, too.

For maximum chance, pay the $1000 or so to a data-recovery firm.

Otherwise, freeze it and then try reading all the data in several passes.

sounds as if you haven't actually lost the data yet. finish the rebuild, plug in the usb drive and copy your data off it straightaway.

Thanks mygothlaundry - I will add it to my list of possible solutions. The list includes paying big bucks to a recovery service and your solution at this point :-(

quonsar, I can't read the drive at all via the USB box.