How can I mend or replace my HDD on my DVD recorder?

My Toshiba DVD/HDD recorder has started giving me an error 49 message when I try to record onto the hard drive. I can watch titles I have already recorded, I just can't record anything else. It is less than half full so it is not a capacity problem. It is hard to get to the Toshiba service centre and I was wondering if there was a D.I.Y option. Can I just replace the HDD or clean it somehow or try to fix it myself?