My computer was working fine, and then suddenly it stopped. Nothing at all happens when I hit the 'on'' button, no sound, no lights. I didn't do anything special or unusual the last time it worked, which was yesterday.

Any idea, help will be greatly appreciated, thanks, Fred
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I've found that a lot of times when an electrical thing just won't work, when it was working fine, and then suddenly stops with no warning, it's a connection problem.

So the easiest thing to check is the main plug in the back of the computer, the one that leads to the outlet or power strip. Just unplug it and plug it back in a few times, then try restarting it.

Sometimes this plug get corrosion on it, and makes it so the contact doesn't happen right, give that a try and let me know if it fixes it.

If that doesn't fix it, you might need a new power supply, but hopefully that's not the case, since it's a pain in the butt to replace all the connections internally.
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I tried it a few times, it still didn't work, but then I tried unplugging it and replugging it in one last time, then suddenly it started! Thanks a lot, I was afraid I'd have to take it into the shop to get it fixed.
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I'm glad that worked for you, it's always better to have a bad connection than try to figure out a hardware failure, that can be a real pain, and expensive.
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Well, bad news, it was running fine, then it stopped again. I took your advice and tried a new power supply, but nothing doing.

A few other pieces of bad news. The computer now seems to almost power up, the light comes on, but nothing happens. I tried seeing if I could get into the bios when it boots up, but it seems like it isn't even getting that far. One thing I noticed is that the fan in the power supply didn't seem to be working, which is why I decided to see if a new power supply would fix the problem, which it didn't, same thing, light comes on, then nothing, no harddrive noise.

Also, a few days ago, a friend of mine was over and accidentally hit the machine with a heavy bag he was putting down on the floor, it rebooted when he hit it, seemed ok, that was when it was still running, but then it wouldn't start anymore.

Is there anything I can do to solve this?
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That's too bad, it sounds like your motherboard or CPU [processor] are fried. Oh well, there's not much you can do, you'll probably have to replace the whole computer, or the motherboard/processor, but it's usually not worth it, it's easier to just build or buy a new computer at that point, sorry to hear it.

If you tried a new power supply, checked and rechecked all the connections, and you still can't get into the BIOS when you boot up, there's very little more you can do.

For future reference, make sure to keep your computer away from any place where a random kick or knock can jolt it enough to fry out the board/cpu. Even though the case seems sturdy, the stuff inside of it is very delicate, to put it mildly.

Anyway, look on the bright side, at least your new computer will be a lot faster than your old one was.
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Although this won't help in this case, it might help other users. I just ran across this problem:

Computer won't start intermittently, usually starts, but then suddenly won't start, plugging and unplugging the main power power cord doesn't help. No power lights come on, nothing at all happens when you push start button.

I decided to figure out what exactly the problem was, and the solution turned out to be very simple.

Follow the following steps. This procedure should only be done if the computer completely fails to power up:

• Unplug Computer, physically, this is very important or you might accidentally short out the system
  
• Wait 30 seconds, the motherboard has some circuits that hold the power for about that long
  
• Open up computer case, place computer so it's flat on the ground
  
• Look for a very large connector, about 1.5 inches (5-6 cm), that goes straight into the motherboard, that's the thing with all the chips on it, it will go directly from the power supply to the motherboard. On some motherboards, older ones usually, the connector is smaller, about 0.5 inches (1.5 cm) square)
  
• When you've located it, find the little lever on one side of it, that locks it into its slot, depress the lever, then gently pull out the connector, often it's easiest to rock it slightly back and forth. Do not pull any cable ever by the wires, that can ruin the connection permantently, always pull by grabbing the actual plastic connector.
  
• Slide the connector in and out a few times to scrape off any corrosion that might have built up.
  
• Push connector firmly in until locking lever is engaged, double check connection by pushing firmly down on top of connector.
  
• Plug computer back in, push start button and see if lights come on. If they do, you've fixed it.
  
• If they still don't come back on, you might need to get some contact cleaner, you can buy a spray can of it at most electronics stores, real ones, not those stupid strip mall type consumer electronics stores. Spray a little directly on the connection, both male and female ends, then slide connector on and off a few times.
  
• IMPORTANT: let the contact cleaning fluid evaporate completely, give it 15 minutes at least, better safe than sorry.
  
• Try restarting the computer again after plugging it back in. If it works, you're set. If it doesn't, you probably need to try a new power supply. If that doesn't work, your system is most probably toast.
  

Good luck, hope that helps someone, Erik
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