Broken LCD on Laptop…

Hello,

I have a laptop that has a non-working LCD. This wouldn’t be a problem if it booted into Windows, I could change the screen preferences to an external monitor without seeing what I was doing… But the problem is that I get the 2 beep POST. I tried F2 which generally means continue and it didn’t beep again but it also didn’t go into Windows because I wait a few minutes and then press the power button and it shuts down instantly.

Does anyone have an idea as to whether I can boot using an external monitor even prior to Windows loading?

This is a Dell Inspiron 8500

Any help is appreciated!