Laptops :: External video

Using old Dell laptops as picture frames, I want to use an external monitor instead of the laptop lcd. I want to have the external VGA port on when it boots up and runs.

Any way to force the external video to an 'ON' state instead of having to use the keyboard FN-F8 key?

I'm not sure about the Dells, but my Toshiba, my mini-ITX, and I think my Gateway also have a BIOS setting that can set default to one or the other, or both.

Not Dells, they support docked or system(which means the video given by the keyboard selection)

original here.