Thank you, yes, I have. They are sending me a new hard drive. However, I'd like to know what the error code means. You see, now the system will boot up and every test, barring the one I mentioned, passes. As a result, I want to know why all pass now and the hd seems to work just fine --except for this one test that returns the aforementioned error code.

If anyone knows there at DELL please share it.

The drive self-test is part of the failure-prediction algorithm (SMART).  It is designed to be an early warning of impending drive failure - the drive may not yet have failed completely, but it's just a matter of time before it does.  In essence, SMART  has done its job.

i'm not sure what error code 1000-0142 means but hope this will be useful

Short Generic Test ATA SCSI
No error 0x10 0x30
SMART error 0x11 NA
Defective drive* 0x12 0x32
Run long generic test 0x13 0x33
Bad cable 0x14 0x34
Device not supported 0x15 0x35
Drive password protected 0x16 0x36
Shock damage 0x17 0x37
Corrupted format* NA 0x38

Long Generic Test ATA SCSI
No error 0x20 0x40
SMART error 0x21 NA
Defective drive* 0x22 0x42
Bad cable 0x24 0x44
Shock damage 0x27 0x47
Corrupted format* NA 0x48
Aborted 0x50 0x70

DST Error Codes

00 No Error
01 DST was Aborted by User
02 DST was Interrupted by Reset or Power Off
03 DST Could Not be Run
04 DST Failed for Reasons Unknown
05 DST Failed Electrical Element (Read/Write Head Check)
06 DST Failed Servo Element (Track Following Check)
07 DST Failed Read Element (A Bad Sector was Found)