For the blu-ray drive issue, simply open it up, re-allign everything to the eject position then put it back together, that should cure that problem.
As for the other issue, as above, you NEED a HDD plugged in for the console to work. Your problem is not an issue with the RSX if it powers up and you can see stuff on screen (even if the ONLY thing you can get on screen is the recovery menu).
I did one of these the other day, would turn on, then turn off after 30 seconds. The fix was to boot into the recovery menu and update the FW from a memory stick via the recovery menu. Console now works perfectly.
First fix the drive alignment then try and access the recovery menu. If you can get access, do an update, if not then the problem may well be with the RSX and a reflow may fix it.
However, in saying that, if the machine turns on and stays on, but there is no video AT ALL, even when going into the recovery menu then there is a good chance you have GLoD, which is basicallly a dead GPU and you need to replace the GPU with a known working one. GLoD is usually accompanied by not being able to turn off without using the switch at the back, but not always.
This post has been edited by herman69: Aug 29 2011, 04:08 PM