[OT] Laptop Harddrives

[Josh Charles]

My laptop harddrive went out on me today, and unfortunately my laptop
is no longer under warranty, so I'm faced with the double task of A)
Seeing if I can get the little bit of data that was not yet backed up
off of it, and B) replacing it.  I went to the manufacturer website to
see about getting a replacement from them, but it was going to cost
$400!  My question is this:  are laptop harddrives pretty much like
tower harddrives in that they are standard sizes and I don't
neccesarilly need a drive from the manufacturer?  I looked through
google, and I saw hints towards this, but I just want to be sure.  The
specs from the manufacturer are as follow:

40.0GB ATA-100 EIDE hard disk drive - 4,200 RPM, 2.5-inch form factor,
9.5mm height

The thing that bothers me is the "form factor."  It's an HP laptop,
but the drive from the factory is Toshiba.  Any help will be greatly
appreciatted!

Thanks,
Josh