Why does my laptop turn off randomly?

Why won't my Gateway laptop turn on?

• I bought my laptop from Best Buy back in the Fall of 2007. Initially, I had issues with it from the start and had to send it back to them to get them to completely fix it. Ever since then, it's worked perfectly - until yesterday. Yesterday I came home for lunch and my laptop was working. I got home after work, and noticed my laptop was shut off. I thought that my power cord might have been jolted loose and it had gone into energy saver mode, so I tried to hold down the power button to reboot. When I did that, nothing happened. I unplugged the power cord and tried to turn it on, and nothing. I also took the battery out and kept the power cord in, and nothing. Tried different outlets and everything - and still nothing. Has anyone had this problem, or have any ideas as to what the problem might be? The only thing that I think might have something to do with it is that the past couple of days I have noticed that my power cord has been iffy. It had been plugged in, but I had to turn it a little bit for it to register as charging my computer. However, when I was trying to turn on my computer yesterday the green light on the charger cord was still on. And if it was the power cord, I still believe that I would have some juice left in my battery since my computer will turn off and go into energy mode if it's been idle for awhile. Any thoughts? Thanks. :)

• Answer:

  Diagnostics 101: Start small then move on. You have already stated that you had problems with the power cord, as you had to turn it some to get it to come on. Replace the cord, see if your still having problems. The cord could be faulty and preventing your computer from getting the proper charge or energy to run. It could also be damaging your battery by over or undercharging if the power cord is faulty. Mayby the store you bought it from has a display powercord. Since its a laptop they may be able to plug it in at the store and see if it turns on or charges before you even have to pay for a new power cord (if your warranty doesnt cover it). Only after you remove the possible known fault can you move on to other possiblities that it could be another problem.