> Depends on what the click is. Cant tell from here But being able to hear the click is > usually not a good sign. It may be worth look at the SMART data from the drive. If > you see crc errors and many reallocated sectors, its time...
I've already disassembled the laptop... But this does interest me. I have no clue how to go about doing something like that (haven't even googled it yet). eta: hmm. Doesn't look too complicated.
> The one I just did the usb->hd cable I bought for 20 bucks came with a bit of > software to clone the whole HD and make the partitions bigger that needed to be. At > that point it was just a part swap.
As foolish as it probably was - I didn't make a media backup when I first received the system. But I did make a System Repair disc (burned to a DVD), and made a system back-up to an external HD. I'm thinking that is not related to a disc to re-install the OS...?
eta: Then again, it might be. Reading the Dell website I'm under the impression that I'm probably not screwed.