Can I swap out a laptop Hard drive

This or a similar External 2.5 IDE usb enclosure.
http://www.amazon.com/External-Portable-2-5-inch-Enclosure-Laptop/dp/B002AQ5DC2

Hi:
The DST error code 1000-1046 is definitely a failing hard drive. ..I am not sure why your laptop is not recognizing a CD in the drive, but you should go into your BIOS settings, and in boot sequence, make sure that the CD drive is the first boot device. If you can't boot from a CD, you are not going to get very far with installing a new hard drive...

Yes it should contain all the necessary info.

Here is a 160GB drive that is compatible
http://cgi.ebay.com/160GB-Dell-Inspiron-1000-1100-1150-1200-1300-Hard-Drive_W0QQitemZ230432634980QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a6daf864#ht_3146wt_1165

its fryed the GPU, sorry it won't work anymore, unless a miracle happens. If it was off and you left it off until it completely dried out (6-7 days) it would of still worked.

Error code 1000-0146 is a hard disk drive failure, you'll need to replace the hard drive. If under warranty contact Dell for a replacememt. If not, you can buy replacements at newegg or other tech sites

Try ebay
This is 60 Gigabytes
http://cgi.ebay.com/40GB-Hard-Drive-for-Dell-Inspiron-1000-1100-1150-2500_W0QQitemZ400006682102QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item400006682102&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

and this is 160 Gigabytes

http://cgi.ebay.com/40GB-Hard-Drive-for-Dell-Inspiron-1000-1100-1150-2500_W0QQitemZ400006682102QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item400006682102&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

you need to create a partition or, use a boot loader

Check the disc for scratches, this could be a bad disc. However, I'm leaning towards another issue besides the hard drive being bad. Tell me what initially happened to make you buy a new hard drive. Hard drives aren't effected by the heat produced by the machine, so tell me what made you think it was heat that caused the hard drive failure.

This is a hard drive failure. You will have to replace the hard drive. Go to pricewatch.com they have the best prices for hard drives that I've found.