The original poster had a fantastic bit of luck. I hope he has learned a lesson about making
regular disk backups. If you don't copy your disk, block by block from track 0 to track "X"
on a regular basis you will, sooner or later, lose some, or all, of your data! If it's your personal
computer, you can replace the drive, re-install your software and MAYBE get on with your life.
If you are responsible for your employer's disk farm, and have made regular backups you MAY
be be able to restore from a backup and lose relatively little.

If you failed to make regular backups, your ass is grass and just about everyone will be firing
up the lawn mower! This is a lesson that many people must learn the hard way!