Please Help - Original iMac 333mhz (purple)

Question

Here's the story.
A friend of mine knows a little boy whose parents passed away and they want to give him a computer for Christmas... she asks me where she can buy a cheap used one and I offer her my purple iMac.
I pull it out, plug it in and turn it on. It works great. Show her that there's software on there for e-mail, web and open up iTunes and show her. Then I tell her, let me just move it into the other room and get it connected to the internet so I can make sure it's as up-to-date as it can be.
5 minutes later, I plug it in in my office and now power. No power light, no sound, just dead. I try another surge protector. I try disconnected the ethernet plug. I try without the keyboard. I try the power button on the keyboard and the monitor. I even carry it back into the original room it was in and plug it in there... NOTHING!
Does ANYONE know what this could possibly be. It is something that's easy to fix (I could do myself). I REALLY feel bad and want to give this computer to the little boy, and I'm frustrated that is was working great one minute and now it appears to have just died on me!
Anyone know???

Answer 1

Thanks! While I was waiting for a reply I did find information about the battery replacement and ran to Radio Shack... they had one! I took the machine apart, but in a new backup battery and the machine is now working great!
I'm so glad! At least this little boy can go on the internet, do e-mail and instant message and do book reports (Apple Works is on it). It won't be a fancy computer, but he gets the basics.