PC Starts but nothing on monitor?

[focus]

My computer randomly started freezing one day and i kept using the button to restart it. Then the next day I started it up again to try and fix it and it froze so i restarted it again.
Then the computer would make the starting noise. So it's on but nothing is shown on the screen. I also noticed that it doesn't make the *beep* noise which the computer usually does when it starts up.
Anyone have any idea's on how to get it up so i can atleast back-up?
Thanks in advanced!

---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 PM ----------

I've managed to back-up the data by pluggin the hard drive into my bro's comp.
Im tryin to fix the PC now. I took out all the ram and then took out the little battery for 20seconds.
I then put the battery back in and started up the computer with no ram and it didn't make any beeping noise. Does that mean the motherboard is fried?

Also i have a spare computer. I plugged the harddrive into it and started it up fine but then when i turned it off it makes 2 beep noises and doesn't display anything on the monitor. I tried plugin the ram in individually but no luck.

Any idea's?

[Darkmere]

Go to the vendor of your mother board and look up the model number. The number and length of beeps or lack there of is a way for the mother board to tell you exactly what is wrong. But you have to go to the vendor to get the meaning of the beeps or lack of since most motherboards are different.

[wongers]

RTFM. mobo' beep sequences are different from one vendor to another, google it if you dont have the original manual.

[Smith6612]

So basically, your PC makes a brief single beep when it starts up to indicate it has performed POST successfully? If you're not even getting that or another beep code, if you don't have a POST Status Indicator found on your PC, your problem could be either a bad motherboard, bad power supply, bad processor or power not getting to where it should be (CPU, typically). Hate to say that but when a board doesn't even POST, it's best to inspect the power connections and the hardware inside for any damage or defective parts. This includes Bulging/leaking capacitors, "pathways" on the motherboard that are burned or blackened, shorts, processor pins and loose components.

[lllllllbob61]

When the monitor doesn't come on, It's usually never too good.

A desktop right? More than 3 years old or so?

Sounds like symptoms of Bad Brand Capacitors. Bad cap symptoms:
-First starts randomly freezing while in use. -May randomly restart on it's on while in use.
-Next freeze half way booting up. -Next no monitor. Yup. Seen it, Fixed a few like that.
-Bad caps usually causes the power supply to go bad. but not always.
Usually you can add a new power supply and it will work for a short while longer until the bad caps burn out the new power supply from overload.

Look on the mother board, and look at the capacitors.
"The cylinder looking things with the shiny X's on the top." They should be flat.
You see them swollen up on the top or bottom, leaking brown stuff out of them?

So far I fixed two boards that had bad caps. One of them also had a bad power supply.
I trash the one's with like 15-20 bad caps. Got several free pc's like that. Horrible caps.
Had only one board that everything looked great, but failed to post.
You can't save them all I guess. lol

Mother boards are still made today with cheap bad brand capacitors that burn out in 3,4,or 5 years.
Most people don't know to look for that little problem.
I learned that from this site: badcaps DOT net
Check the "how to identify link" and check the forum for your motherboard model.

Of course, you gotta know how to solder. It's always easier to get a new board.
But it doesn't hurt to know what the problem is.

* If the capacitors Do look good. Then simply try a new power supply.

[apisds]

Check your video card (assuming you have one). Poster above is correct about bad caps. Not only from the mobo side but also from the video card side. I have replaced SEVERAL bad caps on video cards myself. These cheap capacitors usually "puff" open at the top (look for busted/popped/cracked silver-colored components on the video card). If your motherboard comes with a built-in video connector, remove your video card and use the built-in (or "on board") video.

[DIGI_Byte]

Best guess is that you fried your mother board :/

one thing is if its a graphics card issue there is one thing I know where you pull out and reinsert your ram sticks
redock them basically, dunno why, but mysteriously it helps, worked for my last computer.