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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  1. Anonymous
    2016-09-30T05:01:55+00:00

    Hi FridayBob's,

    Have you tried enabling the NumLock with the on-screen keyboard? It literally only takes seconds to do:)

    1. Click Start, type on-screen in the search field, then select On-Screen Keyboard from the search results list.
    2. On the On-Screen Keyboard display, click Options.
    3. In the Options window, select Turn on numeric key pad, then click OK.
    4. The On-Screen Keyboard now displays a numeric key pad. Click NumLock to enable the numeric key pad.
    5. Close the On-Screen Keyboard.

    Voila!!! This should permanently enable the NumLock feature on your key pad. If you want to turn it off, all you have to do is open the On-Screen Keyboard and click the NumLock button again.

    Tammy

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-01T17:30:43+00:00

    Reloaded the latest BIOS, no change in the Num Lock situation. Still boots up in Num Lock "off" so I need to press the Num Lock key in order to type in my login code. Not serious, but a computer should remember its last state.

    Bob

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-01T16:33:38+00:00

    Thanks Tom,

    My experience is not consistent. I had a 4-year-old Toshiba laptop running Windows 10 that would always remember my Num Lock status on power-up. That machine was stolen and I replaced it with a new Dell XPS15, Windows 10, and now the Num Lock never remembers remembers its power-off status when I power up. It always boots up with Num Lock off.  

    Just weird. I'm going to check my latest BIOS version, will let you know if that changes anything.

    Bob

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