Intel iMac not starting...please HELP!!!

Question

Hey all,
Well I just arrived to my new dorm room in college with my one week old iMac and I'm encountering some serious problems....
I plugged the computer in while it was on my desk, with other hardware attached into a surge protector and it worked fine for about two days. Today I recieved some new furniture so I had to unplug the computer to move things around....I unplugged it and placed it flat (screen side up) on a pillow.
I plugged it back in with a new surge protector, connected the hardware and pressed the button...didn't start. The printer, the speakers, everything else had power so it wasn't a faulty power strip...just the computer wouldn't start. I then did the following:
1. Tried different connections on the same surge protector
2. Switched back to the old surge protector
3. Plugged the computer w/o external devices into the wall directly
4. Tried it as described above into a different wall outlet
And nothing has worked. I'm going to call Apple in the morning, but as you can imagine with the year starting this is the last thing I need. I'm using my old G3 iBook at the moment to get by, but what has happened to my brand new iMac? Thanks for your help

Answer 1

DIRECTLY from the iMac Help site:
The System Management Controller (SMC) is a chip on the logic board that controls all power functions for your computer. If your computer is experiencing any power issue, resetting the SMC may resolve it. The SMC controls several functions, including:
* Telling the computer when to turn on, turn off, sleep, wake, idle, and so forth.
* Handling system resets from various commands.
* Controlling the fans.
Note that resetting the SMC does not reset the PRAM. Resetting the SMC will not resolve issues in which your computer is unresponsive—in these situations, restarting your computer will generally suffice. If your computer isn't responding, perform these steps one at a time, in this order, until the issue has been resolved:
1. Force Quit (Option-Command-Escape).
2. Restart (Control-Command-Power).
3. Force Shut Down (press the power button for 10 seconds).
Resetting the SMC can resolve some computer issues such as not starting up, not displaying video, sleep issues, fan noise issues, and so forth. If your computer still exhibits these types of issues after you've restarted the computer, try resetting the SMC. To reset the SMC on an iMac (Early 2006), iMac (Mid 2006), or Mac mini (Early 2006):
1. From the Apple menu, choose Shut Down (or if the computer is not responding, hold the power button until it turns off).
2. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables.
3. Wait at least 15 seconds.
4. Plug the power cord back in, making sure the power button is not being pressed at the time. Then reconnect your keyboard and mouse to the computer.
5. Press the power button on the back to start up your computer.
The iMac (Early 2006) and later models do not have a button on the main logic board for resetting the SMC, which eliminates the need to remove the computer's cover to reset it (as required for some earlier models).
iMac 20" Intel Dual Core   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   It's Sweet, It's a MAC