Asus K53sv only boots with HDMI hooked up

[Lucasam]

Hey all I have K53sv with the optimus gt540m/intel whatever number gpu...

I have an issue where the laptop will not POST unless its plugged into an HD tv through the HDMI port. Doesn't matter what tv, and the tv doesn't even have to be on, just plugged into the wall. And if i unplug the HDMI cable at anytime after POSTing, it will freeze and immediately.
I made a 2nd partition and loaded a fresh copy of windows 7, and it does the same thing! It's the nvidia driver, and doesn't matter how old or new, if I install it, it will crash. I uninstalled the nvidia driver and just kept the intel driver, and it works just fine, no issues.
Anyone have ideas?

 

[Laptop_Nerd]

Hi,

Does it happen even when it's connected to its charger? Please do try these troubleshooting steps that may help in solving the issue.
- Start by testing your AC adapter if it's supplying enough voltage to your laptop because it seems like your laptop is lacking power and the graphics card will only function if it gets power from the external display.
- Do also try another AC adapter and see if the same problem will persist or not because if it doesn't that means it's the AC adapter that is faulty.
- Next is to do a clean install of the graphics card driver.
- Here's the complete guide on how to: http/www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2767677/clean-graphics-driver-install-windows.html
- Once the latest driver has been installed do test it again.

 

[Lucasam]

I does it with AC or on the battery. I tried another AC adapter with the same result. I did a clean driver install aswell, with nvidia's latest driver 361.43.

It did have adapter power jack replaced, could that have played a part? Maybe the external display is being used as a ground from a bad solder job, or the jack failing?

Heres what it looks like when it freezes, it's flickering btw
Flickering

 

[Lucasam]

Also, when I switch from "clone display" to single, it will crash immediately as "well. And this is using Intel.

 

[Lucasam]

A little update- i found out it will boot and run with just a VGA cable hooked up. I decided to remove it after being on a few minutes, and it stayed working! I was able to play fallout 4, browse Internet, watch movies without any issues. I restarted it, but once again it will not boot without either VGA or HDMI hooked up.
WTF?