What is the meaning of "Hardly...when"?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

[b]1-Hardly had she known the news when she fell down un-conscious.

2-Hardly had they put down the phone when they heard a knock on the door.

I can’t differ the two sentence… which one comes first?

Is this correct??

1- The first one means: When she had heard the news she fell down un-conscious.

2- and the second one means: When they heard a knock on the door they had put down the phone…

But how??

[/b]

2

Hardly had she heard the news when she fell down unconscious. - first she heard the news, then she became unconscious, but the second followed the first very quickly.
Hardly had they put down the phone… - first the put down the phone, then almost immediately afterwards there was a knock on the door.
I would prefer ‘barely’ to ‘hardly’ in both those examples.