IMac unplugged

In the last 2 weeks my 2 year old 24' iMac developed a problem.
It completely locks up during sleep and after forced restart there is flashing folder with a question mark. DiskWarrior and Disk Utility from the System disk do not see my hard drive. Plugging and unplugging peripherals has no effect. I assumed hard drive failure, but...
After pulling the power cord from the back I was able to start iMac normally. DiskWarrior, Disk Utility and Hardware test report no problems. Everything seems normal until it happens again after sleep or, possibly, shutdown or restart. Flashing question mark, no hard drive, pull the cord, let it rest for a while or overnight, plug it in, restart, sometimes several times, and it works again. This has been going on daily for more then a week now!
Any ideas, please?
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz

Hi, there is something wrong somewhere! (HD is suspect) - May I suggest, when you Post, can you list ALL the troubleshooting steps you have taken..As per DT" I think "back up" is the key phrase & a visit to your local AASA...........L

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