Acer :: Aspire 5102- BSOD Error

I've been getting the BSOD error on my PC. The main ewrror is 0x000000f4 but I sometimes get the 77 error as well. Most times i need to reboot and then I get the 200 fixed hard disk 0 failed error . If I click F! i get yet another error, PXE.61 error and this takes my rebooting quite a few times in order to get windows xp (media center edition) to come uo it stays on for a while (the length of time is getting shorter and shoryer these days) and then I have to go through the entire scenario over again. I'm trying to remove the files and programs that I actually care about off this comp. I contacted Acer tech support and was told that it most likely a HArd drive problem and that it would need to be replaced They had the wrong warranty ending date for me and after providing proof of purchase, they changed it to 11/23/07. Now that I have about 8 days left on my warranty. the tech support person told me to purchase the extended warranty because if I ship it to them and the warranty expires, I will have to pay for the service. Now my question is this. I'm not too sure that it would be worth shipping it to them for repairs I will have to pay $99 for the warranty plus tax and At least $100 to ship it back to them. On top of that I have read horror stories about people who sent their comps in to be repaired and it being returned to them with scratches on the LCD, initial problems not repaird or additional problems after the comp was returned to them. I'd much rather carry it in to a shop but was told their are no local repair shops in my city except for geek squad and they will charge me since I didn't purchase my comp from them. WHat would you do take it to a local repair shop or pay the bugcks to extend the warranty and then pay to have it shipped to be repaired? Another reason why I am leery is because I bought a HP laptop last year. the Ac adapter jack ont he comp was loose so I shipped it to HP to have it repaired. they had my comp for almost a month and then told me the motherboard, keyboard, speakers, and LCD display was unsalvageable and that it would cost me over $1000 to have it replaced(i only paid $369 for it on black Friday). They also told me that I had a liquid spill which was a total lie as I keep my laptop in my bedroom and I never eat or drink in my bedroom.( come to find out that loose jacks are a known problem with some Hp laptops I have read horror storeies about Acer using the dreaded liquid spill excuse too and I don't want to go through the drama again. Are the BSOD errors definitely the fault of a faulty hard drive?