Flashing question mark on folder at start up...help,please

From everything I've read here & skipped over to the links & read, my MacBook is a dead duck. Not a very good track record since this is my first Mac, from all the raves I've heard from MacFolks, I thought I'd take the leap....it's only about 7 months old, with no warranty ("oh, you don't need one, Apples are indistructable, nothing will go wrong" silly me for believing that one). We only have an "authorized dealer" here (or is it called a "reseller"?), I'll have to drive 100 miles for a company store. At least it's in the same country and the only significant thing I lost was my weeks worth of uploading songs. All ya'll that lost your memories and work and sentimental or necessary things, my heart goes out to you...

A follow-up: About a week after I eliminated the flashing question mark by futzing with Open Firmware, it came back. Nothing I knew of would eliminate it. Apple recommended a new logic board. MacSpecialist in Villa Park, Illinois, swapped in a known-good hard drive, problem still existed, then swapped in known-good memory, and the flashing question mark was gone. Happy days. But wait, then they swapped back in my memory, and still no flashing question mark. The conclusion is either I still have a latent, hibernating problem, or I had a lose cable connection or unseated memory card, and the swapping activity fixed it. Time will tell.

I have a MacPro- weird, most people with this problem have the MacBook!!! My computer crashed last night... haven't backed up in 3 weeks- hear whistling noise in my HD. Hope I can recover SOME data - especially projects pending and pics! I tried holding shift but I get a panic code, then holding C down from installer gives me DU with verified SMART status (good right?) but cannot fix my HD - tree partitions and nodes? - I am going coocoo. Don't want to erase my HD as I need my info in there. If I do erase, will going to data recovery place get something out?
So bummed... $5000 computer shouldn't break.

I'm in the club! TWICE in THREE DAYS!!!!

I KNOW EVERYONE HAS SEEN THE MAC 'guy' vs. the VISTA 'guy' COMMERCIALS THAT FOCUS SOLEY ON WIN VISTA's PROBLEMS, RIGHT?

I loved my Vista, never once had ANY problems. Then it was stolen, and as a gift i was EXTREMELY excited to get my first experience with a mac! (I've had windows since i was 11, even before AOL.)

My Macbook was purchased used, dirt-cheap(it came with the flashing question mark problem, which was why it was so cheap). I then spent $250 getting it redone. It worked great all day yesterday. YESTERDAY. Today? BACK TO SQUARE ONE!!!

If that wasn't enough, i have a CD with pictures on it in the CD drive, and cannot get it to eject. Can anyone tell me why i should EVER try Mac again?