Intermittent scratching noise on pb 1.67 hard drive

I've done a search on this issue and know it has been discussed, but I was not able to find anything dealing specifically with my issue.
I have a pb 1.67 with an 80g hd that makes an intermitten whirring, actually more like a scratching sound. I've noticed that when it does it and I'm typing or opening a window, the computer hesitates. Because it's happening more and more often, it is causing my pb to run slow (hesitating task completions). Editing video, typing on Word has been an absolute hassle.
I've contacted apple and they had me try some things: repair permissions, repair disk (found a minor repair needed on a volume header and fixed it). BTW, I've got the hard drive partitioned into two (one as an emergency hd that I keep the os and diskwarrior). I've run every utility I can think of (onyx, dw, etc) and still having issues.
I am planning on taking it in to an apple service provider, but I was wanting some input from all of you to go into the shop a little smarter. Do I need to demand a new hard drive? I can't find the brand name of my hd otherwise I'd give it. I am concerned that my hd will go and i will lose all of my files, so I am planning on backing up this afternoon.
Thanks for all of your help!

Raul
The symptoms you describe are consistent, but not exclusively, with a failing hard drive. If you have already tried other options then I would say it is more likely than not that the drive is failing.
Therefore it is wise to backup immdiately - but make sure the backup is cloned onto an external FireWire drive that is bootable. Do not use a USB drive. Use either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner to do the backup and make sure you test the backup afterwards by restarting from it.
An Apple Authorised Service Provider itself does not offer a longer warranty term on any Apple product unless you are buying the AppleCare Protection Plan (which is only available for purchase within the first year of ownership).
However an AASP can carry out an out-of-warranty repair, payable by the customer. Personally I would have no qualms in using a local AASP as some of them can be very knowledgeable. Furthermore they don't always send repair jobs back to Apple.
In terms of warranty, only a longer warranty from the retailer that the PowerBook was purchased from will help in this situation. If the retailer did not include a longer warranty, you did not purchase any additional warranty or you don't have insurance that might cover such an event, then alas the cost of a repair will have to be met by yourself.
Here in the UK replacing the hard drive can cost around £60-70 (for an 80GB drive) if the installation was carried out by yourself following instructions from ifixit.com (be aware it is not a simple job for a novice). On the other hand I have had an AASP charge around £50 to replace the internal hard drive. Therefore a hard drive replacement is not a prohibitively expensive job.
15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, PPC Mac minis, 12" iBooks G3/G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5) Cube, TAMs, iPods 2G/4G, iPs, AEBS, AX

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