How can I tell if my hard drive is bad

so when i turn the computer on, i get the gray screen with the blinking folder with a question mark in its center. When i use the installation disk the computer recognizes it and boots up. However it doesn't seem like the computer is recognizing the same old hard drive its had since i bought it. on top of that i don't get the buzzing of the fan when the computer is turned on. secondly, there have been many times where the computer has made a "click" "click" click" sound. is my hard drive bad or is there some other problem with the computer?

thanks