Frank,
All devices with metal components are prone to "creep" and I have seen it as a factor on numerous occassions. Whilst I appreciate the "god" like status passed on by the recipient of help, I do let them know that the problem required only removing the drive and replacing it and your problem regarding your Lenovo machine is identical to one I repaired last week with another Lenovo machine. There are many myths and areas of "smoke and Mirrors" within our industry, however those of us with the experience need to empower our clients / customers / users with all the basic repair skills which in turn will release us to carryout more technical challenges.
I am not saying that this is the definative solution to your problem - I am saying that it would be daft to overlook such a simple solution to a problem based in physics (metal grows and shrinks depending on the ambient temperature).
The issue regarding your Hotmail issue - is the hotmail site used as your homepage? Have you ensured that the machine is clear of infections?
http://www.malwarebytes.org will provide a fantastic free piece of software which may assist you in uncovering possible miscreants.
Is your IE 100% upto date, what addons are you running and have you tried disabling them, have you tried resetting your IE, have you tried running IE in safe mode, are you in a situation to try other internet browsers?
All possible thoughts relating to your situation - if I have others then I will post them next time