This is what i was afraid of... do you remember where you purchased it? Did it list details regarding what was in it?
Did you get a receipt/invoice listng the internals?
I bought it off of Dell's website. I think it listed specs and stuff, but because i don't know much about computers, it all sounded fine to me.
I don't know if i got an invoice or anything with the internals, but i think it's something that can be looked up pretty easily.
French's recommendation would work perfectly for you.
If that is the case, I think you are fully covered provided warranty period is more than one year. I'd contact Dell first before attempting any user repair. Warranty could be void if you open the back cover of the laptop.
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I don't think it's covered anymore. I couldn't afford an extended warranty or anything. But since it's still pretty new, and the problem first started a few months after getting the laptop, might i be able to get a replacement drive or something from them?
All I can say is to contact Dell.
It is them who decide what kind of after service they provide.
Since it is a warranty related issue, you'd better contact them as soon as possible.
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Okay. Thank you for the advice!
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I can change my IP with my ISP tho.
You can try changing your drive by yourself, it's not that hard actually. There should be a tutorial online. I opened many laptops to fix issues, hope you don't mess anything up. I wish you luck 
OP's laptop could be still under the warranty.
In that case, open the back cover is a very bad idea since it will void the warranty for sure.
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I really hope the Warranty is valid. Usually, they weasel out... A year? That's over the time much of the time.
It's not an old drive, really. It seems like if a drive is rated for five years of use, that is what the warranty should be. Not a fifth of that time.
That was what I was wondering but inquiring Dell would not hurt.
If Dell refuses the warranty coverage, the OP can open the back cover and see which brand of HDD in it.
I remember I took out a HDD from the external HDD enclosure (out of warranty) and still could RMA the HDD itself to the manufacturer of that HDD.
I suppose it all depends how Dell procure their parts.
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Dropping hint:
I worked for Dell Computers once, long ago...
-cough - Did I mention something about this earlier? I just got a feeling of deja vu.
I think you said something like that, but did not specifically mention the name Dell.
That was when I lived in Austin. If you really want me to go into details... LOL... Micheal Dell was a neighbor.
Yes, Same Micheal Dell.
He had started out selling assembled computers out of his home garage.
Anyway, that was long ago... and just... moving along...
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I emailed Dell tech support, and despite my laptop being out of warranty, it sounds like they're willing to diagnose the problem if i mail them my laptop. But the costs and time it'll take is a bit much. There's a place i can take my laptop to get it fixed and stuff that's local, so i think I'll do that.
Also, i was able to get back into my laptop. From the black screen of doom, i told it to reboot and it did. Such a finicky thing.
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If you are not comfortable to open it and fix it yourself, that is the next best thing you can do. If you need any further advice, by all mean to come back here to ask question.
While you can still boot into OS, you should back up all your personal files. Just copy the entire content of Home directory. This will make your re-installation easy.
Are there other ways to back all that up other than copying it to a flash drive?
You could upload all your files to Cloud service such as Mega (which most of the moderators endorse).
Is there a chance that my files might be corrupted or something because of the faulty hard drive?