So I have a Sony Vaio Desktop PCV 2232 running Windows XP, i think ive had it it for about 3-4 years now, recently its been doing weird things such as changing the screen color to red when im switching from speakers to headphones in jacks. and it tends to restart by itself at random times, now it wont start. i have read that i need to slowly disconnect and reconnect the connector from the power supply to the motherboard. my computer was working fine last night when i was using it, now when i tried to start it up this morning the OS didn't start at all. i pressed the power button and it was working but not fully, the fans and the power light were on but the hard drives weren't running at all, then i turned it off and on manually and the same thing happened, now it wont turn on at all when i press the button. I just dont know what to do anymore.... does this mean i need a new PC!?
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There's so many possible causes for this issue it's simply impossible to know where to start looking.

Here are the top causes:

• As you read, bad connection to the motherboard from power supply. Easiest to test, as noted, insert and remove the main power connectors to mobo a few times, there are 1 or 2, one large and rectangular, one smallish and square, usually with yellow wires. The first one is always present, the second one isn't always there. They have little locking clips you have to open with a fingernail before removing them.
  
• Bad power supply unit. Often power supplies that come with the computer are pretty low quality, and can easily fail. Your symptoms could be caused by a dying unit. Cheap but reasonably good replacements are made by thermaltake. Don't buy this stuff however and expect it to fix the problem, it's unlikely that it will, but it could. Do not buy a junky cheap powersupply.
  
• Assuming you do not have the computer attached to power via a UPS, battery power backup unit, as ALL computers should have, it's possible voltage surges or drops fried your mother board.
  
• If you aren't running even a real surge protector, a surge could have fried partially your mobo. No matter what you do, you must always use a very minimum of a real surge protector for a computer, and really you should use a UPS, it's much cheaper to buy one of those than to buy a new computer.
  
• Your motherboard is dying. That's my guess, that's what it sounds like.

HP makes very nice lower end consumer computers, I recommend them to anyone who isn't willing or able to build their own.

Your machine probably is not under warranty, so unless you can learn how to rebuild it, putting in a new motherboard, or testing to see if it's a bad power supply first of course, you'll probably need to buy a new one.

But whatever you do, make sure to get a UPS first, this is a classic sign of a voltage toasted motherboard. Remember, a surge protector can protect the system against surges, but it does nothing for power drops, what we call 'brownouts', power dips, that is.
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