Hard drive broken

Yesterday, when I turned on the PowerBook, I couldn't boot up. All I got was a flashing question mark. I took it to the Genius Bar at the Apple store, and it turns out that the hard drive is dead. The laptop itself is apparently working fine (it boots up with an external drive), but it doesn't recognize the hard drive.
This came without a warning, as the computer was working fine earlier that day, and I've never abused this machine.
Is this expected for a PowerBook G4 that is only 2.5 years old? My data is irretrievable if I don't want to spend $700. Is there anything that can be done? I am absolutely devastated.

keforster:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
You do not tell us about what tests were run to determine that the HDD is dead, apart from the fact that it will not boot. I suggest that you try Repair Disk
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report if it says anything but Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
Depending on what you find out you may need to run one of the utilities linked above. Depending on what you find, it may be possible to salvage some of your data with a utility like DataRescue II.
Ultimately you may need to install a new HDD, which you can likely do yourself with a bit of work and skill with a screwdriver. It will, indeed, cost a bit, but hopefully not near $700.
Cheers
cornelius

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