Clicking sound... afraid for hard drive!

As of only a couple days ago, my laptop (HP HDX 16) has suddenly started to make a quiet, yet noticable, high pitched clicking kind of sound. I'm afraid this is the sign of a dying hard drive (and I've only had this laptop since August 2009... I highly doubt its lifespan is meant to be 1.5 years). I'm in the process of backing everything up, but I have some key questions:
1. Is the hard drive dying for sure?
If no...
2. How do I quiet this sound, and what is causing it?
And if yes...
3. How much time do I have?
4. Is there any way to slow down the process?
5. Should I keep using the laptop like normal, or use it as little as possible?
Thanks, and please provide anything else I should know or do.
I tried to record the sound with my mic. There's a lot of white noise because I amplified it, but you can still kinda sorta hear it: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13157221/noise.mp3
Thanks!!!

Rpvee, welcome to the forum.
This is a peer to peer help forum. Most of us don't work for HP. Therefore, we are speaking from our own experience.
I listened to the recording that you made. While there was a lot of white noise, I did hear a high pitched sound at the beginning of it. Personally, it doesn't sound like a hard drive to me. I can't say what it is with any certainty, however. I suggest using HP Support Assistant to check the drive's condition. Also, you can troubleshoot the other components, as well.
Please let us know if this solves your problem or not.
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Severe startup problems (sounds like the hard drive is done.)

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Clicking sound... afraid for hard drive!

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