Hard drive failed. Several questions. Please help. :)

Okay, so my hard drive suddenly disappeared. When I restarted via DVD, the hard drive clicked repeatedly. My hard drive is dead. RIP.
I got my PB in June '04. It's a 1.5ghz. I got the three-year CompUSA warranty.
So I drove my PB the 120 miles to the CompUSA where I bought it. They said they'd call me when they look at it.
So here are my questions. I'd appreciate any answers you many have.
1. My hard drive just quit out of nowhere. I noticed it when trying to wake my PB from sleep. Then, like I said, it began clicking after a restart. Does this indicate a mechanical failure, and if so, is there a good chance that the data is recoverable?
2. Has anyone had CompUSA do a data recovery? They offer it for $99. If my hard drive allows it, is this my best option?
3. When CompUSA installs a new hard drive under warranty, will it be the same kind? Or is there any chance I'll get an upgrade in capacity or RPM?
Thanks to anyone who has had a similar experience and can maybe answer these.

Thanks Justin S. That's my name too.
Donald: I realize that CompUSA is not very Mac-centric. But it's the closest place to my home that sells Macs, and I wanted to try before I bought. I would love it if I could do all this through my friendly neighborhood Apple store, but alas, Amarillo doesn't appear to be in line for one.
I hve the CompUSA thre--year warranty, so I had to take it back there to get fixed. I have no idea if they know what they are doing. Hopefully so.
I think the $99 data recovery deal means they will back up your existing data to other media if they have to initialize your HD. I am sure it doesn't apply if they have to do actual "data recovery" - that is, resuscitating a damaged platter or something.
The reason I thought it MIGHT apply to me is, it sounds like this is a mechanical problem, not a problem with the actual hard disk. I just thought perhaps getting data off a mechanically disabled disk might be less expensive and less intensive than trying to rescue data from a lot of damaged 1's and 0's.
Thanks for your answers!

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Hard drive failed. Several questions. Please help. :)

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