MacBook Pro :: Diagnose 12" PB G4 - Background Picture?

I need your expertise in figuring out whether my 12" PB G4 is worth salvaging. I tripped over the cord a few nights ago and it came crashing to the ground, landing open in a V. I was sure the screen's hinge would be damaged, but it wasn't, and the screen appears to be a little blurry in the middle, but avoided catastrophic damage. Here's what happens, though. When I turn it on, it loads, though it takes 20 mins to get up and running. Then it loads my background picture, but nothing on my desktop. And the toolbar at the bottom shows up, but if you click an icon, the computer does the spinning wheel for about 5 mins and then the spinning wheel disappears and you're still just looking at the background picture.I'm really upset at the prospect of having lost all of my files. At the same time, this computer is 4+ years old, so it seems silly to spend $500 on getting it fixed. Does anyone recognize what might be wrong here -- is it something I might be able to repair on my own? Or that could be done cheaply at a repair shop? Or is this poor laptop finally d-e-a-d ?