Mother screwed up her laptop, help?

[CKPGirl]

In a moronic fit of a rage, my mother ended up smashing her laptop shut, and now it "won't work". It'll boot up, get to a dell loading screen for a few seconds then say 'A disk read error occurred, press ctrl+alt+del to restart.'

It will restart if you press said keys, but loops again to the disc read error. I went to the boot menu and and diagnostics, and this was the only error:

DST Short Status Test
FAIL
Error Code: 0000-0146
msg: Unit O:IDE status failed status byte = 64 ControlCode = 1
msg= No additional sense information.

It was also making beeps when this error came up, I believe three in a row.

What I want to know is, would I be able to fix this for her, or does she need to take it in to the shop? Or is it trash? (this is the third laptop she had broken <.<)

Edit: Laptop is a Dell, unknown exact brand, but probably old. Running on Windows XP.

Thanks!

 

[clacker]

I think you should take it to a shop so they can open it up and check if all the parts are working ok, and they can replace any parts that are broken. She has probably smashed the motherboard or something important.

And possibly anger management for your mum.

 

[connchri]

Your IDE controller or Hard Disk is at fault.

Hopefully, all that's happened is that the HDD connection has somehow came loose. Take out the Hard Disk, and make sure it's seated correctly in it's caddy, then reinsert it. If you still get the error, see if you can get another Hard Disk from somewhere and replace it. Hard Disks are sensitive to shocks and it may be busted. If none of this works, it looks as though something is wrong with the IDE controller or port, and that's going to be a problem, and if that's the case, either take it somewhere to get the soldering checked (a bit of a problem with lead free solder is it's more brittle and can break soley due to the slight warping of the motherboard due to the running temperatures) or get a new motherboard for it - both options ain't cheap.

So, failing curing the problem with a new HDD, I'd just chuck it and look for another, perhaps second hand, laptop.

Chris.