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#41
The problem is we don't know exactly what caused the drive to acquire the Read only configuration.
My own guess is that a surge during the sudden power failure or sudden switch on when power resumed could have done some damage to the electronics.
If it were so, then you can't reverse that status by any means.
Apart from PhotoRec, is there anything else one can try that would maintain the file/folder structure and recover data as it was?
The answer is may be but one has to experiment. Personally I won't experiment before I get the data in some form and so I would stick to PhotoRec which we know for sure is not going to manipulate the drive in any way to make things worse.:)
And yes, I am not averse to experimenting but will do that only on a cloned drive - if I can successfully clone the drive.
So my own prescription - Get data first in any form ( you can always restructure the data and restore the folder/file structure reasonably well, I presume) and then experiment whatever you want with no holds barred.
I would also advise you to stick to one Windows 7 PC - I am least prepared to deal with any surprises that Windows 8 may throw.:)
The only other thing I may want you to try - till you get another drive - is using WinRAR to check whether it can see your problem drive and show the data in it. If your Windows 7 is 64bit download and run 64 bit version of WinRAR and navigate to the problem drive if it can. If it shows the data in it, you can copy. Most probably this may not work since there is no file system. But who knows? Sometimes miracles do happen.