laptop slammed shut! Help

surely that event cooked the HDD

laptop drives are more tolerant of movement than desktop drives

but are just as fragile when it comes sudden hard impact

you can get the damaged sector(s) info from it by running Seatools, SpinRite, or other disk testing tools

also if you have the windows CD you can use CHKDSK from the recovery console

While I agree that the hard drive is the prime suspect, it is very possible that other parts have come loose.

If you have the knowledge to do so, you could check the internal parts and connectors.

With power off and the power supply disconnected, remove the battery and open the bottom cover to expose the memory and hard drive.

Oh, listen closely as you flip the unit over to make sure you don't hear little parts tumbling around inside the unit. If you hear little parts rattling inside, it is time to take the unit to a service center so they can identify the parts and make a repair. Do not open the case if you hear parts rattling. If you loose the loose parts, the service center will have a harder time identifying which parts broke loose.

Make sure that the memory is securely seated and the the hard drive is fully mated with it's connectors.

Can you see the cooling fan? make sure it was not damaged and spins freely. Make sure the fan power connector did not pop off.

As many laptops have socketed CPUs, it may be worth the time to have someone make sure that the CPU is secure in the socket and has no damaged pins.

Chas

For a less technical possibility.
It's the little pin that goes in the little hole when the lid closes, or however it's done in that particular laptop. If it thinks it's lid is down it powers down - so check if it's somehow jammed or damaged. That's something you can check with only simple mechanical expertise, so it's nice to rule that out right away.

Hookup an external monitor to your laptop and check if it goes all the way to the desktop. If not restart it and press F8 repeatedly before it shows 'green line'. select option with not to restart, in that sense it will show you a blue screen with a message that will help in solving your problem.

you are using windows XP home edition aren't you?

Is to use one of the many available Hardware Testing Disc's and run some diagnostics on the Hardware. I like the Ultimate Boot CD available free here

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

But there are others.

I would download the Ultimate Boot CD burn to a Blank Disc and then test the HDD, CPU and so on for correct function.

Though by the description given it does very much sound like a HDD issue.

To use a Boot Disc you may have to enter the BIOS and change the Boot Order to Optical Drive then HDD and remember to save the changes as you exit the BIOS. ;)

Col