data recovery from failed laptop?

hey guys, a laptop with some important data just failed.
the hd died. I would like to take a crack at recovering the data? is it very dificult to do?
thanks in advance for any help I build desktops, never been inside a laptop before, but I think with the right advice I could do it.

Does the drive spin up?
Is it detected by the computer?

It could be possible (short of mechanical/electrical failure) to recover the data yourself. If the drive does not spin up or it isn't detected, it will probably be the "expensive" route (sending it in).

try buying a external enclosure for the 2.5 in laptop hd and plugging it in the usb of a computer. if the drive is not bad it should be recognized and spin up.

unfortunatly...the drive does not detect in bios, I dont think I have heard it spin up either. I did confirm the rest of the pc is ok by booting into windows pe.

I do have a 2.5 enclosure, around here some where, should I still try that as a last ditch effort or if its not being detected in the bios is it just a waste of time?

thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it.

well you are going to have to pull it out anyway to replace the bad harddrive, why not test it out