Since my laptop died and I was fairly sure it was the harddrive, I decided to take the laptop apart and see if I could fix it.  And to my surprise, I found that it plugs into the side of the case and can be unplugged by removing two screw.  So, I removed it.

A quick scan of Best Buy yield a replacement drive to $60.  Not only was it an in-store item, it had more storage than the defective drive.  So, I decided to take a chance are try replacing it.