Hard drives are complex, electromechanical devices - they can fail for a host of reasons. They're the least reliable part of any computer -- the two biggest killers of hard drives are shock and heat.

Hi Luis-Ex,

What ejn63 said is absolutely right. Hard drive can fail for many reasons. If the system is under warranty, please click on my user name and add me as a friend. Send a direct message with the service tag, name and contact number so that I can call you and get this resolved. However if the system is not under warranty please click on this link to purchase a compatible hard drive:

accessories.us.dell.com/.../category.aspx

Awaiting your reply.

Your drive has failed - you need a new, 2.5", 9.5 mm or slimmer notebook drive to replace it.

If you can swing the price difference, go for a Momentus XT - it's a hybrid SSD/hard drive.  They're very much worth the price difference -- they're very fast drives.

www.newegg.com/.../Product.aspx