I'm currently using a laptop with a missing screen, so I've connected an external monitor which, for the most part, has worked quite well.Problems arise, however, if I have multiple Linux distros installed, for example. Normally, with multiple distros installed, a boot menu quickly appears after start up, prompting the user to select the one they wish to load. Without a 'native' laptop screen, while connected to an external monitor, this boot menu never appears. To  be more precise, the boot menu loads (of course), but it never appears on the external monitor. This is also a problem when installing a new distro, I've found. My solution is to remove the hard drive and temporarily connect it in another machine with a working screen, install linux, and move it back.My question is: Is there a way to force screen output to an external monitor before linux loads (during the OS selection menu or while installing a new OS), or does a simpler solution jump out at you that I have missed?[Edited to include BIOS information]BIOS Information        Vendor: LENOVO        Version: H0ET32WW (1.14 )        Release Date: 06/15/2012        Address: 0xE0000        Runtime Size: 128 kB        ROM Size: 4096 kB        Characteristics:                PCI is supported                PNP is supported                BIOS is upgradeable                BIOS shadowing is allowed                Boot from CD is supported                Selectable boot is supported                EDD is supported                3.5/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)                Print screen service is supported (int 5h)                8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)                Serial services are supported (int 14h)                Printer services are supported (int 17h)                CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)                ACPI is supported                USB legacy is supported                BIOS boot specification is supported                Targeted content distribution is supported                UEFI is supported        BIOS Revision: 1.14        Firmware Revision: 1.14
Force screen output to external monitor while installing/booting linux
linux;boot;system installation;boot loader