Hard disk not recognized on MacBook

Hi, I have a 2006 MacBook Core Duo. Since yesterday, the machine won't start up. I hear a clicking sound on startup, then the question mark appears in the center of the screen. Can't see the disk in System Profiler or Disk Utility either.
My question is, does this mean the disk has died, or is it possible the interface to the disk is broken? If the latter, how can I find out? I don't want to buy a replacement disk and find out I can't use that in the MacBook either. Would it be any use getting a tool like Disk Warrior or Tech Tool Pro, would that tell me what is the problem?
Thanks.

A clicking sound is almost certain disk drive death. It's a physical issue (a crashed head, for example), so the diagnosis software would not be able to tell you what's happened (they would probably strain to contact the drive, and then give up). The only other check you could do would be to remove the drive and put it into an external enclosure, and see if it works there. If not, you should get a new drive - they're relatively cheap, and easy to replace on the Macbook.
Matt

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