I recently bought a Sony Vaio PCG-5G3L from a friend of mine for 20$ reason being....he thinks its broken beyond repair. I know for a fact that just the display is broken and everything else works just fine. I bought it thinking I would just use a spare monitor instead of the (cracked) on board LCD that the laptop has. My problem is that I cannot see the menu to switch the default LCD to the external monitor because nothing is visible on the cracked LCD. I would rather not buy a replacement screen....they are rather pricey. If anyone could help me or give me ideas on an alternative solution PLEASE post or PM. Thank You.
UPDATE:
I was able to view part of the loading process and noticed the previous owner set a password. I know the password now but I am only able to view the screen for about 1 minute b4 it whites out. I tried using Fn+f7 with my external monitor plugged in but it did not work, the port on the laptop seems to be different than my external monitor VGA plug (blue with the two screws on the side).
The laptop port does not have the two screws to fasten the plug. The pins do match up but due to the screws blocking the port. it seems as if i cannot plug the monitor in all the way. The monitor does not recognize that it is plugged in. Is there a new standard of VGA plugs? My monitor is about 6 Years old.
Broken Screen
GWfan#1
rb.widow
Actually they may not be as pricey as you think, a friend i work with, broke his 17" LCD screen, and was able to get a brand new replacement for like $120.
Elder III
There is a pretty good chance that you can hit FN + F5 (or whatever F key your laptop manufacturer designates) and that will switch to either Clone or Dual View mode. Give it a try at least. 
Quaker
More likely, it's FN + F7, but check the user manual. (Go to Sony's Service & SUpport page to download the manual, if you don't have it.)
GWfan#1
bumpdate......