[Satcomer]

Buy and external firewire enclosure that fits that drive. Then get a repair program like DiskWarrior and see if you can repair that disk.

If something mechanical is wrong with disk you some time can get it temporary working by putting it in a freezer proof bag (to keep moisture out) and freezing the disk. Then as fast as possible putting it in the enclosure and see if you can quickly get data of it before it warms up.

Lastly there is always the Drive Savers service.

Well i think both you and your friend have learned a valuable lesson, always have a backup. The question is not if a drive will fail, it is most always when it will fail.