Turn NUM LOCK on at start-up

Anonymous
2009-12-27T01:45:17+00:00

How do you edit InitialKeyboardIndicators in the registry editor so num lock is on at start-up? One instruction I read said to change the value to 2.  The number that is already present is 2147483648 which I have no idea what it stands for!  Can anyone help me out here? Thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2009-12-27T08:21:38+00:00

By default the numlock status is the same as it was in when you properly shut down the computer. If it was on when you shut it down it will be on when you again turn the computer on.

--

Richard Urban

Microsoft MVP

Windows Desktop Experience/Security

"BJ55" wrote in message news:b6f5c70d-a053-431 1-946d-ba9e8879f644...

How do you edit InitialKeyboardIndicators in the registry editor so num lock is on at start-up? One instruction I read said to change the value to 2.  The number that is already present is 2147483648 which I have no idea what it stands for!  Can anyone help me out here? Thanks

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Anonymous
2010-06-04T13:27:04+00:00

I haven't read through every reply, but just in case there has not been an answer for this, here is what you do.

By default, NumLock, CapsLock, and ScrollLock are set to off on power up in WindowsXP.  If you want to modify this to allow one or all of them to be on by default at power up, follow the below instructions.

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Run
  3. Type RegEdit
  4. Expand to HKEY_Users
  5. Expand .Default
  6. Expand Control Panel
  7. Expand Keyboard
  8. Find sting value InitialKeyboadIndicators. (By default this will be set to '0' which means Num Lock, Scroll Lock, and Caps Lock are all turned off.)
  9. Double click the "InitialKeyboardIndicators" string value and make the following changes.
  • 0 - Turns off Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock
  • 1 - Turns on Caps Lock
  • 2 - Turns on Num Lock
  • 3 - Turns on Caps Lock and Num Lock
  • 4 - Turns on Scroll Lock
  • 5 - Turns on Caps Lock and Scroll Lock
  • 6 - Turns on Num Lock and Scroll Lock
  • 7 - Turns on Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock

Exit the Registry. When you restart, the new setting will take effect

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137 additional answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T17:15:27+00:00

    Hi, 

    thank you. I appreciate your work and time you spent with this article.

    Also I agree that it shouldn't be 9 pages long discussion.

    BUT...

    my registers : 

    my system:

    I believe I have everything you said it should be...

    I have tried to put there  .....50 value and also just 2 value.... folowing always proper shut down and start PC. (not just RESTART)

    In BIOS, I have NUM Lock ON,

    In BIOS there is no option for FAST START   (as was also one of solution of this problem posted by someone)

    My LED blinks 2x after PC start  (one very fast, then while loading windows (probably) little bit longer)

    But when appears login page, the Num Lock is OFF.

    When I just restart the PC then I agree the state of Num Lock is ON.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T06:16:42+00:00

    Tacking onto a nine year old topic with 9 pages is probably not the way to resolve an issue in the community.

    If you are having an issue with keyboard indicators, describe the issue, describe what you are seeing that you don't think you should be seeing, describe what you are not seeing that you think you should be seeing and describe what you think is not working the way you think it should be working.

    This should not be a 9 page discussion.  Windows works only one way in regard to InitialKeyboardIndicators.

    2 is a valid value and means Num Lock on.

    Here is some discussion about how the keyboard indicators work - the thing to remember is when you power up the system, the BIOS settings are used first (if there are any available), then as Windows loads the default settings are loaded (which is why the indicators may "blink"), then when a user logs in the settings are taken from the way the indicators were set when that user logged out or when they shutdown Windows - that becomes the final setting for that user and that is how things will be when they login again.

    No matter what the values are in other places in the registry, when a user logs in the indicators are going to be the same as they were when that user logged out (or when they shutdown Windows).

    You may find a value of something like 2147483650 in the registry under HKEY_USERS but that doesn't matter... 

    Those settings under .DEFAULT will only be used to set the initial values up up when you create a new user and those values are copied into their personal section of the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_USER (it belongs to that user) - then it doesn't matter anymore if its 2 or 2 hundred million since then the user will have their own profile in the registry that will be used when they login or logout.

    Windows remembers (and might adjust) the settings when a user logs off or the system is shutdown and applies it again when the user logs in.  

    Now you know one thing that is happening when Windows says "Loading your personal settings" or "Saving your settings...".  

    This is why the BIOS setting may appear "not to work" or the keys seem to keep changing.  They are behaving as designed.

    When the system boots, the indicators will behave according to the settings in this order:

    1.  The BIOS settings (sometimes you can adjust things in the BIOS)

    2.  When Windows loads it will load the default indicators for all users... which will all turn off (that is the default Windows behavior)

        (this is why your indicators may "blink" after you power up as Windows loads)

    3.  Then when you login, the indicators will assume the state they were in when that user last logged off or shutdown.

    Different users/logins could behave different settings when they log in (stored in their user profile) depending on how things are left when the user last logged off.

    A user login will always have the same settings when you login that you had when you logged out or shutdown.

    For an example, let's say you need to have the Num Lock key on before you login, so you would need to change the Windows default settings.

    Read this article for a little background (you will not do this - it is just FYI):

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/314879

    Each user has their own specific setting in their user profile, but those will not get looked at until the user logs in.

    You can adjust the default setting and for each newly created user profile or for an individual profile by adjusting the value of:

    InitialKeyboardIndicators

    For all (new) users the location for the default InitialKeyboardIndicators is:

    HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\KEYBOARD  (usually set to zero=all OFF)

    For the currently logged in user, the location for InitialKeyboardIndicators is:

    HKCU\CONTROL PANEL\KEYBOARD (mine is set to two=Num Lock ON after I login)

    Here are all the values for InitialKeyboardIndicators:

        * 0 - all indicators off

        * 1 - Caps Lock on

        * 2 - Num Lock on

        * 4 - Scroll Lock on

    Or, combine them by adding the values to some other number:

        * 3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on

        * 5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on

        * 6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on

        * 7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on

    If the InitialKeyboardIndicators key does not exist in the registry, create it as a REG_SZ String Value variable.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T05:26:21+00:00

    Thanks Woolverine,

    I did it and spent an hour on checking and rechecking all 12 instances of InitialKeyboardInd... 

    It still doesn't work.

    What happens is that every time I turn the computer off HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ControlPanel/Keyboard reverts to value of 2.

    I understand that the value is string and it should be 2147483650,

    Is it correct?

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