External monitor goes black when laptop is closed

[cornto]

I have a Dell laptop computer attached to my big screen TV in the living room. I have set the laptop to display only to the external monitor and I would like to close the lid of the laptop, when I am working at my desk. Now the problem is that whenever I do close the lid, the display on the external monitor continuously cuts in and out about every 2 or 3 seconds. Whereas i can connect to the external monitor, where i can view the display which works fine, if the the laptop lid is open. So, can any body tell me that why external monitor goes black when laptop is closed? Any idea about it? Please help me out. Thanks.

[kiLLer]

On power on the screen would stay black, no POST, nothing at all on the display. You need to press Fn and F8 while the monitor is attached and it should power on if tat doesnt work left click your desktop and click properties and then go to settings and you might have to enable the double monitor feature. The HDD would spin up but the HDD indicator would not come on and would not boot. The DVD drive would spin up and attempt to read a disc if one was in the tray but still would not boot.

[Birdie]

Go into the power options under the Control Panel and click on the Advanced tab. There is just one solution at has to do with your graphic card. Go and download the most updated drive and it will solve the problem. Here you can configure what the laptop will do when you close the lid. When yo connect an external monitor you have to press the fn(function) key and f4. If you look at your f4 key you will notice a monitor symbol on it. Set it to do nothing and apply the settings and close the window. I hope this helps you.

[David23]

Have you tried connecting the monitor to another computer? You'll notice that when you hold the FN key down and hit the F8 key it toggles the display between three modes. To correct this, open the screen fully i.e. laid back against the table. Remove the back plate as described above and locate the plug. CAREFULLY remove it. Place some thick card over the screen - the flap from a corrugated box will do just fine - this protect the screen. Use the FN + F8 key combination to send the display to the external monitor only and then close the lid and see if your big screen keeps displaying.