Thanks for the advice but with further reading I have found that these types of recovery software only work if the drive is assigned a Drive Letter by Windows. This is not possible with a JB3 as explained at nomadness.com so it looks like I have lost it, but heres the info if anyone else is curious.
Can the NJB3 appear as a drive letter, mass storage device etc.?
It cannot appear as a drive letter, similar to how a mass storage device appears with driverless support.
There are several applications which will allow you to view the Nomad as a device in Windows Explorer, but it's important to understand this will not allow you to: run applications, access the Nomad through applications e.g. Microsoft Word, and will also require that you install drivers first. A list of applications that allow you to view the Nomad as a device follow, note these are repeated elsewhere in the FAQ, with download links, information etc.:
Notmad Explorer - Arguably the best product available, but shareware.
Microsoft's Digital Media Edition - Free, but the functionality is extremely limited.
Nomad Explorer - This shipped with some Zens, and was available for a short time as a download, but has been pulled for download from Creative's site due to issues and was never replaced.
Creative File Manager 2 - principally designed for data files.
Note, there are no 3rd party firmware or hacks that will allow the drive letter and/or driverless functionality, and Creative have not mentioned any plans to this effect either.
Also note, even if this functionality were added it would fundamentally change the way the device works. If the Music Library based on tag data were to remain it would necessitate that everytime files were added a scan of the disk would be required taking a relatively large amount of time to check what files were present and to add the tag data. If the Music Library were to be removed then the device it would have to be navigated by folders and files instead, which would not be liked by a large number of users.
If drive letter support is the most important feature for you then check the MuVo and MuVo² range of players which have this, and use folder and file navigation.