Lid switch override?

I am locked out from regaining access to a system that is still running when reopening the cover/screen/lid. The display is blank and unresponsive to any input. USB storage harddrives, if present, never stop running. This happens on a Gateway MX3410 notebook. If I do suspend before closing the lid I can get back with a login screen. How do I go about overriding system display options that are ignored? I always loose my work if the lid is inadvertently closed. I then must force a shutdown by pressing and holding the power switch, as no other keys or actions revive it. Cutting the power in any other way wreaks havoc with the SSD BIOS so I am careful to always use the same specific USB sockets with certain flash devices when restarting. Issue unchanged in live, installed and updated versions.