lindsym, if all you get is the rhythmic clicking, it does sound like the hard drive. You should get a message to contact Apple etc. on the display, but I would go ahead and replace the drive anyway :-) Just a quick warning, the HDD are not inexpensive. Check [http://pdasmart.com/products/AP16ipodpartscenter1g.htm|on here] and I am sure you can find more places like it. Follow [guide|366|this guide] for the repair. Also, you might want to consider replacing the HDD with a CF card. Check [http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/11530/Wish+to+replace+hard+drive+with+CF+Card|this answer] for more information. Hope this helps, good luck.