Dead hard drive?

[TheCAD]

I need to confirm what I've got on my hands is a dead hard drive.

Here is what happened:
Someone brings me a tablet(gateway M275) w/ XP installed. Its not booting...says "C:\Windows\system32\config\system" is missing or corrupt. I notice the hard drive is making horrible noises(sounds like an old/dead hard drive...but may just be loud).

The person had lost their XP CD so I didn't try to reinstall right away, but had an extra copy of win 2k. Asked them if this was acceptable, tried to install it. Deleted the XP partition and tried to create a new one.

At which point I'm told "not enough memory to format" or whatever the screen says.

Seems like the hard drive is dead for sure to me, but I've never dealt with this before.
I just want to make sure the hard drive is for sure the problem before I tell the guy...

 

[tiraides]

A loud, clicking sound is an indicator that you have a dying hard drive.

Here's how to confirm it:

To test the hard drive:
Download the CD image of Hitachi Drive Fitness Test, burn the ISO file to a CD, and then boot from it, just like you would do with the XP install CD. Test the hard drive and see if any problems are found. DFT will run on most manufacturers' hard drives. Alternatively, you can use Seagate's SeaTools for DOS to test a Seagate or Maxtor drive. For a Western Digital drive, you could use Data Lifeguard Tools for DOS to test a Western Digital drive.