IMac is not booting - How can I copy my files to an external drive

Hello,
my iMac (late 2009 model, OS X 10.7.4) is not booting anymore. The iMac stopps booting at the Apple logo and the spinning gear.
I tried a couple of things that I found here in the community but nothing worked.
start in safe mode => iMac shuts off after a couple of seconds
start with safe boot (Shift-Command-V) => I'll get a couple of error messages, e.g. disk0s2: I/O error.   SATA WARNING: Enable Drive PHY PM failed
reset the NVRAM/PRAM => no change
But when I try to get access on the HD with the FireWire Target Disk Mode, I can see the following folders: Applications, Library, System, Users. But the statusbar shows 0 items for each folder and it shows that the HD has 650 GB available. I have the original 1TB HD. When I try to start OS X from an external drive I can see the same folders. I tried Data Rescue 3 to scan my files, but the software stopps with an error.
My TimeMachine backup was not working, so I have no actual backup and need to find a solution to copy my files to an external drive.
Instead of Data Rescue 3, I can use TechTools Pro 6 alternatively.
Would Data Rescue 3 find files if I erase and create a new partition on the HD?
What I found out so far, it looks like a corrupted file system.
Have anyone an idea or a tip, how I can copy my files?
I would be more than happy if someone can help me.
Thank you very much for all answers in advance.

The internal drive is failing, or has failed. You may not be able to save the data.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot into Recovery (command-R at startup) or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

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