Aspire v15 Nitro Will Not Boot Up With HDMI Monitor Connected

Hi, I have an Acer Aspire v15 nitro. GREAT laptop. BUT...the display crapped out on me a while ago, and I'm not spending $300-$400 on a new display. After power-up, I can plug in an HDMI cable and use this laptop using a Hi-Def monitor. The problem is that if this monitor is plugged in at start-up (via HDMI), it will not boot. The screen is black. At that point you cannot even ping it. However, power off. pull the HDMI cable off, power up, wait about 30 seconds and the monitor works just fine. This is not a major issue because at least I have a workaround, but I'd like to fix it. If MS Updates prompt a restart, it won't come back on until I manually disconnect the cable and plug it in AFTER a few seconds. Also, the monitor is black when plugged in during POST. Therefore, I cannot access or see the BIOS. Also, since this laptop has no RGB connection, I don't have the option of connecting an old fashion monitor. Thanks for reading.