Possible HDD problem. Not sure

Hello
Id like to start with the fact that the hdd doesnt appear to be making any strange sounds.
So heres how the problem looks like.

It first started when i was using firefox and flash videos.
The computer would freeze and would not respond at all. Sometimes the capslock light would light up if pressed, sometimes not(on different startups).

I tried formatting Disk C and installing xp instead of vista. Seemed to fix it in firefox. But when i try to view or open music and video files on the secondary partition it would lock up again. You could switch to a different window, but the minute you tried to open a new application it would freeze. Taskmanager wouldnt start up.

Now i restored vista from a backup and the problem still persists.
I was thinking about backing up what data will allow to be copied on a 2nd computer and formatting the second and last partition left.
I didnt want to lose the data without a result. I already lost at least one day reinstalling the OS and trying things.

Id like to mention that i did not try any new software in this period. I dont think the problem was caused by a software or driver. I dropped the computer from a small height but i dont think its relevant.

Any help is appreciated.
I have a few more months left of warranty. I hoped i could fix it by myself

E6400 ATG p9700 cpu, 4gb ram, ST9250410ASG hdd

 

When you dropped it, was the laptop turned on? If so it's not unreasonable that the hard drive had a head crash. Definitely back up all data first. After that, do a quick surface check with HD Tune. If that passes, then try do a long surface check with HD Tune.

 

heres what happened now: i had to restore from the back up again because of this.
i left the computer downloading updates. when i come back a few hours later the screen is black, but the hdd light is flashing. so i push the power button and a sounds comes as if the hdd started working again, but nothing changed.

so i took the power away and restarted it, then it would give me blue screens. it didnt work as "last known good config" neither in safe mode.

thanks namaiki now i will download hdtune
the lid was closed as it fell but i cant remember if it was off, possibly it didnt have enough time to go to sleep

 

i ran hdtune error scan. it revealed 3 red damaged sectors of 95mb in the first 80gb. then the computer stopped responding.
can they be fixed?

 

Can't be fixed. Backup your files and replace the hard disk.

 

but it freezes when i try to access some files.
what if i connected this broken hdd to an external hdd case and to a different computer?
how do you recover whats possible from a broken hdd? i know there are specialists but the data that is really important is already backed up, all i need is to copy a few more files

 

If it's just a few, just copy them one by one. Otherwise, maybe you can try use robocopy which can be set to skip files that can't be read, or find a similar program.