Storage forum: WD Ext 500 GB drive "dead in the water"

I bought the Western Digital 500 GB hard drive (Premium Ed WDG1C5000N)as an extra storage device to my laptop (Toshiba running VISTA). I had stored files and photos on this drive. This drive is just over a year old and it suddenly died. (The drive starts up but then begins single clicks 5-10 sec apart while the drive whirls away....occurring 3-4 times then finally shuts down). Does anyone have any experience with failed hard drives and recovering data from such a drive? How successful is it usually and what is the acceptable price range for such services? Can anyone direct me to specific websites or companies that they have used or had experience with? Is there anything I can do to try and get it back up and running to copy off all the data? I desperately need the data off this hard drive! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
An alarming note: Western Digital informed me that the warranty period on hard drives (all companies according to WD)begins on the production date NOT on the purchase date. I then asked specifically ..."if a drive remained on a retailer's shelf, there is a possibility that it would have NO warranty if it is sold one year after the production date....is this correct?" the response from WD was "Yes".