My iPod clic lost sound. Any idea what happened?

It's not brand new, but it's definately not banged up. I bought it from a friend and besides the occasional drop on the floor (nothing super ) it's never been mishandeled. Today when I was listening to it on the bus, the sound started crackling, then completely cut out. When I plugged it into my Bose sound system, it would play for about 2- 3 minutes, then do the same thing. It wouldn't have sound again unless I let it sit for about 5 minutes, then the same thing happened again. I tried scanning it on my computer, and it said that it fixed all problems. Has anyone experienced this before, and either way, do you think that it could be fixed ? Preferably a home remedy (my dad's a computer technician and should know what to do, he just can't figure out the cause) but if I need to I can go to Apple.