ASUS G50vt-x1 turning monitor off/ protect at school

Okay I got some stupid questions.
How do I turn the monitor off? Every time I hold the power button it shuts off.
This is my first laptop, and is there any programs or settings I should do to my laptop to keep it secure while I'm at school?
And I also reformatted and added windows xp pro, and window vista ultimate. Now I have a boot menu with both operating systems, but after I reformatted my pc takes forever to boot up. Like 3-5 after i select the operating system.
Any help, I would greatly Appreciate it.

 

Fn+F7? Blue LCD label

 

How do you protect it from being stolen, or protect it from being used by someone else while you are away?
for #1, install a program like BOINC or similar, that contacts a server on the Internet regularly and records the Internet Gateway IP address that the laptop is connected to. So this would be helpful if the system got stolen. If the thief turns on the machine and it manages to connect to the internet, then hopefully the program will contact the server and you can open up the web site from another computer, see the IP address, and call the police and tell them it so they can track where the thief turned on the machine at.

for #2, well, lock the screen Startmenu button + L. Have a good password too.

As for turning off the screen, well, obviously you can set it up to do that after a specified # of idle minutes (# of minutes the user is not using the computer, the LCD fluorescent tube will shut off), and of course if you close the lid... I'm sure you can get an app to instantly do it .. other than putting the computer into standby/sleep mode as another option (make sure you have to enter a password to continue using the computer after it wakes up from standby to keep it secure from people who just can't not touch other people's things).

 

Thanks zerosource, I just learned a new trick

 

If you're paranoid like me, you can get this alarmed motion-sensing lock:
http://www.targus.com/US/product_details.asp?sku=PA400U

Close the lid, wrap the cable around something solid, place the lock on top of the lid, and activate the motion sensor. That way if someone tries to take off with it or open the lid and use it, everyone within 50 metres will know about it. The alarm on that thing is SO loud.

Our university has a big problem with thefts recently...we've probably lost over $10k in electronics in the last couple of weeks. Needless to say that I've been using my Dell for work and keeping the Asus at home.