Hp laptop acting weirdly.

[nattysinister]

i have a Hp pavillion dv 2700 which is around 5-6 years old.
System Information:
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255)
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL8
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2390 @ 1.86GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3062MB RAM
Page File: 1124MB used, 4998MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
Problem: Cannot use any user installed apps such as vlc or firefox; Windows media player and Internet explorer works fine.
As soon as i try to firefox the notification light for CPU(in bottom left besides mouse) starts to glow and it glows permanently rendering my laptop unsable and freezing and i have to reboot.
Potential Cause: I punched it in the mouse area.
Solution: ??? Does anyone know ???
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[Mushkins]

You punched it?

Sounds like you probably broke the hard drive in a way where windows boots, but it's locking up when trying to read from wherever those programs are stored.

Run some drive tests is where I would start. And don't punch expensive electronics if you want them to continue functioning.

 

[nattysinister]

Well yes i also think it is the hard drive.
And it is almost confirmed that my hard drive is a paperweight now because:
1. I can no longer boot --- BSOD error - "Unmounted Boot Volume".
2. Can't even install windows from pen drive.
3. Hard drive self test(from bios) resulted FAIL.

Do you know if hard drive can be replaced at home and what will be the cost of good quality 320 gb hard drive.

Edit: How to know what hard drive goes into my laptop?

 

[Gunbuster]

1: It's the HDD activity light, not CPU
2: Pull the drive out and take a look, I think on that model it's under a door on the bottom.
3: Buy a new SATA drive. Make sure you get the same height or lower.

 

[nattysinister]

1: It's the HDD activity light, not CPU.

Thanks a lot. I wish I knew it before---Lost 120gb data thinking that it is the CPU light and either RAM or CPU is bad.
I will go on shopping soon.