How to Get Backup from a Failing Hard Drive

When your hard drive is at a brink of getting failed or "is failed" you’ll notice that:

1. Hard drive making some strange kind of sound which you would have never heard when it was working normal.
2. Unable to copy some files.
3. Hard drive performance is slowed down dramatically.
4. Random errors at boot time like, Disk I/O error, Invalid Drive Specification.

Hear I’ll discuss some of the possibilities by which you might get your data backed up even if get ages to get the backup operation finished. But before I discuss these possibilities, you must make sure that the problem is with the hard drive and not the cable, bios or broken/damaged Pinsin case of IDE drive. Check your hard drive in another system. Check the hard drive cable by hooking another hard drive with the same cable. There might be a problem in the hard drive’s MBR (Master Boot Record), and the fix is available here.
http://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/fix-mbr-xp-vista/
Similarly remember that you must apply these techniques to be only as your last resort, and that you have a replacement or planning to get your hard drive replaced. Listen to the sound of your hard drive; if it is very noisy (making some strange sounds, sometimes tuck… tuck) chances are very low to get your data backed up. You’ll have to hire a data recovery professional for a very high price to get that job done. Similarly remember that almost 80%-90% of the time these procedures will work only once so you must be prepared for the worst.
The Procedure:

In case of Stuck Platters:
On powering up you notice that the hard drive doesn’t spin at all.
This kind of problem arises when the platters inside the hard drive get stuck. To overcome this situation Gently Slam the hard drive. You can slam the hard drive with the palm of your hand, we can also use screw driver handle for the purpose, or in worst cases slam it to the desk. Slamming helps in making the stuck platters of the hard drive unstuck. After slamming, plug the hard drive back in your PC and get the required data backup. It will work long enough to get you your data.

Another procedure for the non-spinning platters is to put your hard drive on a smooth surface and spin it by your hand as you spin a bottle. It’ll help in making the stuck platters inside the hard drive unstuck so that you have your last hurrah on getting your backup.
In case of Heated Hard Drive:
You notice that your hard drive heats up more than normal. Similarly sometime get data read errors.
The cool thing to get your data backed up in such a situation is to cool down the hard drive. Put the hard drive in water proof bag and put it in freezer for an hour or two depending on how much your hard drive heats up, if it heats up like a hell increase the freezing time.  After that plug it back in and take your data backed up as fast as you can before your drive heats up again. Get your entire data backup before you shut down your PC as chances are very rare that it’ll work again.