Recovery of 500 GB HDD from windows laptop - folders visible in ubuntu but not in Windows

Windsorleisureboys

Reputable
Dec 26, 2015
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4,510
Bit of background:
Windows 8 laptop got sat on which sightly cracked the casing (didn't notice it at first)
Laptop restarted itself a few times a few hours later and I stupidly didn't back up any files after each one time it did this.
Then on last restart it couldn't boot up windows.
Removed HDD from laptop and put in HDD caddy to connect to another laptop via USB.
HDD could not be read in Windows.
On a different laptop I ran Ubuntu via USB stick without installing.
After searching for hours how to access the HDD through Ubuntu I managed to at least see the folders and some folders within folders but not files! Overall it is showing 150GB used of 500GB which I think is about right.
I have run Testdisk and a few other programs through Ubuntu and windows with no luck. I get read error messages.

There aren't any signs of physical damage to the HDD and it is not making any unusual noises. Please note that I can only view the 1st to 3rd level of folders in most cases and they all appear empty.

My gut feeling is that the laptop shutdown badly (Windows 8) due to the physical damage after the successive forced restarts but the HDD is not physically damaged otherwise how would I be able to see the main folders on it?

Your help will be greatly appreciated!!