Can I use an external monitor/clamshell mode PERMANTENTLY?

What I'm trying to do is take my old TiBook 550 with its malfunctioning screen and busted hinges (grrrr) and effectively turn it into a low-budget version of a Mac Mini i.e. hook up a USB keyboard and LCD monitor to it and use it as if it were a desktop.
Now I have successfully attached the monitor and keyboard, turned on video mirroring etc. and it's all working fine. No problems with getting the thing to work. The only problem is I am having to keep the PB screen open slightly so that I can shut down and boot up for each session (for various reasons I don't want to leave it in sleep mode). Even though I bought a keyboard that has a USB power button on it, I am still unable to use it to boot up (I can shut down though).
As I understand it 'clamshell' mode only allows you to put the computer to sleep, so is there any way I can permanently tell the PB to ignore the on board LCD and only use the external display? My ultimate goal is to just have the PB sitting out of the way, lid closed (or lid removed??), whilst I use the keyboard and external display PLUS be able to shut down and reboot without having to prise open the screen, which is now quite damaged. Any ideas? TIA.
Powerbook G4 15 1.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.3.8)

Hi there,
I think you're right - Shutting down works via the keyboard but not Boot Up. It's weird because I'm sure I remember being able to do this once in the dim and distant past but maybe I'm wrong.
Anyway I've now hooked up my old laptop so that the screen is held ajar so I can reach the power button. After some research, I found out that the laptop should not be used with the screen closed for long periods anyway because of heat issues so this inelegant solution is probably the best in terms of keeping the temperature down.
Now what I need is some safe way of permanently disabling the display so that ONLY the external monitor works. If there was some way of doing that, at least I would not be wasting energy powering the original LCD. So far I have been able to disconnect the cable on the back of the screen that sends the 'data' to the LCD, but I've not yet been able to disable the back light.

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Can you read it ? http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3510076&#3510076
Shortly,yes,if your Display connected,just close it and than click the mouse it'll wake up in external display.

Can I use an external monitor/clamshell mode PERMANTENTLY?

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