While at home I plug a wide screen monitor into my Dell studio 1737 Laptop. As long as I keep my lid open the icons and print on my monitor are the right size. When I close the lid, icons and prints get very small on monitor even though I have the power setting set to do nothing when the lid is closed. When I open the lid everything returns to normal. Also how can I wake my laptop from sleep without opening the lid? I use Windows 7. thanks LP

Your lcd screen is going bad. You can verify this by plugging an external monitor to your laptop. if the external monitor shows without the vertical stripe it means the video card is good but your old screen is bad. If the external monitor shows the stripe then it means the video card is bad.

Plug in an external monitor and see if thedisplay shows up on it. It can be any kind of monitor even the old big fat crtmonitors as long as it has a vga cable to connect to your computer's vgaport. If so that proves your video card is ok. The video will showon most systems when you reboot without you having to do anything. Some systemswill require you to hit the FN (Function key) + F1 thru F12. Hold downthe FN key then hit the correct key for displaying on the monitor (F1 thruF12). The correct key will normally have CRT/LCD on it or it will havethe icon of a display.

I had the same problem and Dell said I needed to replace the monitor.

if you have the recovery disk run them your missing a file that it needs to run right

You can try the diagnostic tests outlined in this article:
http://www.fixya.com/support/r6416948-troubleshooting_laptop_power_failures

If the lid is cracked-- nothing that you can do about that.. if you have warranty on the computer call dell (18006249896) and say then that lid came off automatically.. They might ask you did it.. Say it happen by itself.. Only then they will replace it free of cost.. If you dont have warranty call a local tech and get the lid replaced.. Thank you..

Inside windows, open system config utility by clicking start and typing msconfig then enter. Disable all start up items and put a checkmark on your antivirus software. hit okay and restart your machine. You might need to add more RAM or Memory Module to your computer to make it faster.

Plug in the moniter.
press Fn+ F8

This issue can be solved by downloading the BIOS update and Dell Quickset Applications.

Go to support.dell.com

Download the BIOS and Quickset. And tehn install.

Did you try depressing the key with monitor icon (F8) and the lower left corner keyboard switching to that upper row that controls the video output to internal/external?

My best guess is, if they crackle with the speakers but not the headfones,  then replace the speakers. Must be a lose wire or something of that nature.