Cant see BIOS/POST screen when using external monitor

Ive had the M11x r1, r2 and now a r3.

I noticed something thats really been getting on my nerves. I use a HDMI-DVI cable to go to a external monitor (Samsung 943). When i first setup this up, it worked fine for all 3 versions of the laptop. Now it has changed and i dont know why.

When using a external monitor, the display will drop when the machine boots. Meaning, only the login and logout window come up. I cant view the post screen, the BIOS or anything via the external. I have to open the laptop to see that screen. Same with the windows loading screen.

The Monitor comes back once it gets to the windows login screen.

Ive tried rolling back drivers to the ones off dells site, but no luck.

Ive went into the BIOS to see if something has changed. I didnt see anything.

Any help would be great.

 

I'm not sure if it'll help, but this issue is not isolated to the M11x, or even Alienware. My Asus G73 does the very same thing. I have a monitor connected by VGA to the laptop, and when it's turned on, the BIOS boot and windows screen appear on the laptop's display, and only once the windows login screen loads the monitor becomes the primary display. It's likely a driver issue of some sort that causes this, though I don't mind all that much as it really doesn't interfere with my ability to use the computer.

 

I'd hope it has something as simple as changing Windows's primary display to the external under 'Screen Resolution' on the desktop. But since it messes up before Windows loads I could imagine it being an argument problem between Windows/GPU/display-controlling-programs to determine where to display. Like Brutus said, I'd try installing a newer graphics driver if possible or if no other solution seems probable.

 

This is true, that's the normal behavior because the monitor is attached to the discrete GPU, therefore it will load until Windows (and the drivers) are loaded.