Hi sethlenovo, welcome to the forum. :smileyhappy:
It's always a treat to talk with someone from Mad City. :smileylol:
(To other posters, it's an inside joke. If you're not a Wisconsin Badger Cheesehead, you probably won't understand it.)
Which one of your questions would you like answered first? You stated that you hated Windows 8, but are you really using 8, or 8.1?
Well, to activate your second monitor, you could try this:
1. Attach the HDMI out cable end to the laptop.
2. Attach the DVI input cable end to the LG monitor.
3. Make sure the monitor is turned on.
4. Reboot the U530.
5. After the system is up, and running, go to the Devices and Printers in your control panel.
6. Click on Add A Device.
7. If connected properly, it should discover your LG.
8. In the charms bar, select Devices, Project, Duplicate.
The sequencing of the connection steps (1-4) seems to be some sort of rule for many laptops. Once the external monitor is discovered, subsequent connections appear to be easier. If the LG is not discovered in step 6, it's EITHER a bad cable, or you truly have a bad port. To rule out the bad port, you could try to connect the laptop to another HDMI capable TV. Just sayin...
The reason you have 2 GPUs, is because the Intel HD Graphics are there to run your "normal" graphical processing, and the Nvidia is for your intensive Gaming rendering.
Here is your U530 User Guide. You are using a U530, aren't you, or did you hijack this thread?
http://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad_u530touch_ug_english.pdf
On page 25, it tells you how to get into your BIOS:
How can I start the BIOS setup utility?
To start the BIOS setup utility, do the following:
1 Shut down the computer.
2 Press the Novo button and then select BIOS Setup.
The location of the NOVO button is on page 5, although you should already know that, as you did a system restore.
Cheers
DragonRider