After replacement drives are running, but still no boot.

my initial problem was that the MBP wasn't booting. infact it wasn't doing much but flashing the white LED angrily then going black. I replaced the RAM, let it sit for long times, did magical boot incatations with my fingers, tried different power supplies, etc.

I ordered and replaced the MBP. Now at least I get the beginning of a normal boot sequence but still no chime. I can hear the drive being engaged and the CDROM ( which has a boot disk as well ) spinning up, and the white LED remains on.

the display is black. a working external display also does not show any image other than an "incompatible video mode" message.

I have tried different media but I do not get to the 'choose drive' option.

ideas?