HD Partitions & Data Lost-Need recovery Help

[RGPHNX]

Hey Guys,
Heres the complete story: :(
Lost Windows OS due to "sys.ini" file corruption(source unknown). Had to re-install Win ME on primary HD (a Maxtor 10GB) from the "Restore'/Recovery" CD. Had a secondary HD (a WD Caviar 40GB) already installed at the time of the system "restore".

PROBLEM: All partition & file data on the secondary HD (the WD 40GB) seems to be "lost" gone.

QUESTION 1: Is the data really gone or is just the registry & partition data changed due to the "restore"???????????????.

These are the data recovery steps attempted so far:
1) used FDISK to check the partition info on the WD HD>>> no partition info listed.
2) used Western Digital's "Data LifeGuard Diagnostics" program to check >>> no partition info listed.
3) used "PC File Recovery" program to scan the WD HD for data files >>> found 700+ files which it can't read.

QUESTION 2: How can I use KNOPPIX to access/read/write/ & recover the data ???????????
Have Knoppix on disk & it boots up perfectly (many thanks!! ;-)).
Have read "greenfly's" info on using the GPART program but am not sure exactly how to implement/use it (eg. where & when to type the command line info etc.) and/or what other steps are needed to recover data.

Any help appreciated
Thanks in advance
RGPHNX
PS- I know this info is here somewhere- have searched >>> "Data recovery" & other terms in the forums >>
gives thousands of posts. Have read for hours but can't narrow this down even with filtered searches. I'm not lazy, just need good sound info help.

[pureone]

http://purelinux.hollosite.com/savedataknoppix.txt

thats the basics of it.

did you do sudo fdisk ?

[RGPHNX]

Hi Pureone,
Thanks for the link. Read it.
Question: How do I see the data (using Knoppix GUI) in the first place?? So I can save it!! (Have lots of experience in DOS[batch files etc.] but am a total Knoppix noobe.)
Don't know what "sudo fdisk" is. Do I need to use it first ?? & if so how???
I used the standard FDISK program on the Win ME boot disk to view the HD info.
Please advise.
RGPHNX

[pureone]

sudo fdisk -l is the command you enter in a console to show infomation about the harddrive.

as for seeing data thats rather easy you just click the icon with a harddrive on it to mount c:\ (hda1 in linux) and you will see all your data.

i will add more details to that text file later on. im guessing i left out too much stuff for most new comers to linux.