Compaq and Packard Bell Prod.

HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone, I am trying to find some help to 2 computers that I got at a garage sale. 1.) A Compaq Presario 5242 and a Packard bell. They both have the same problem which is, I can't get nothing to come on the screen when I hit the power button. You can hear it come on and you can hear things working and going, but no kind of view. It's like there is no video whatsoever. The monitor recieves no signal from the computer. Any ideas or just throw them away? Can someone help me here on this?

All help is greatly appreciated........

 

Grab an old PCI video card, and stuff it in a slot.
If you get video, then it's either the onboard is shut off, or is defective.
Of course there could be other, more serious problems, but that's where to start.