M17x doesn't boot, Lights on, Black Screen, Blinking Scroll/Caps

Hi,

I got my M17x in 2012 and this kind of thing happens at least a few times a year. Normally, going through the process of unplugging the cables, holding the power button for 20 seconds then powering it on again does the trick, but its not working this time. Just to clarify, the keyboad and power button as well as lid logo light are all on as well as the video lights (eject, ff, rw, pause etc) but the screen is black. I am hooked up to an external monitor but it only turns on when windows starts,since that's not happening, the monitor isn't turning on. The scroll and caps lights are flashing, num is solid. When I press buttons it starts beeping. The fan starts up for a few short seconds, I hear the dvd drive start up for 1 second then everything stops. If you have any suggestions I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks