I have to change my disk, computer won't start. How much should I expect to pay?

Hi!
My computer has a grey screen and won't start. I called Apple and I was told my disk was broken and needed to be repaired. Is it true? How much does it cost?

It could be true - but if I were you I would take the machine to an Apple Store or an AASP to get a free diagnosis and estimate for repair. No one here has any real idea of how much a hard drive replacement would actually cost, either.
Take your computer in and get a real diagnosis. Don't rely on a phone conversation - you really can't do diagnosis on the phone.
Good luck,
Clinton

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Yes, they (the third-party utilities) both come on bootable DVD's. As I mentioned, since Snow Leopard was just released in its final version, the developers may be in the process of releasing updates.
Your situation is likely to be a case where the data corruption issue already existed before installing Snow Leopard, and the installation process made the problem more apparent (because something critical was installed where it was affected by the data issue).
It is a good idea to run +Repair Disk+ in Disk Utility on the startup volume before installing a major system update. Actually, I do it before any system-level update.
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Plz help
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Reinstall OS X.
Reinstall Snow Leopard without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
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Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
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Try booting from your system CD, run Disk First Aid from your Disk Utility and repair your permissions.
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
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Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
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chiae:
am i looking for the Leopard installer or the disc that came with my Powerbook all those years ago?
You are looking for the installer disk for the system which is currently installed on your computer, which is Leopard according to your profile.
Will doing these steps erase my hard drive?
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While you are waiting to locate your install disk, here is something you can do right now, and it will not in any way endanger the contents of your HDD:
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• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
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Use this tip to identify your Mac:
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Thank you for the fast response.
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