my num lock keeps shutting itself off by itself can i stop this

I see no additional replies or suggestions for Omakler2.  However, I echo his concerns and have several co-workers who are experiencing the same, seemingly random disabling of the Num Lock function.  We all use ThinkPad laptops running Windows 7 Professional and mostly use MS Office programs like Word, Excel and Access. 

We have turned the Num Lock on in the BIOS and have made the noted Registry edits. However, while these work initially, the Num Lock will deactivate frequently and randomly during our computing experience.  We often use external keyboards and it happens both with and without them (but we primarily notice it when using the number pad on the external keyboards).  We have used various brands of keyboards with the same issue.

Any help from a MS Technician would be greatly appreciated.  We are all stumped!

I have the same issue with my NumLock turning off randomly.  I have noticed that it is usually when I change programs (as I usually have multiple programs/screens opened).  It is very annoying.  I checked the registry and it is correct. 

It just started a few months back.  Was running fine before then.  I imagine it is an issue with an installed update.  Not sure which as there have been several.  Any suggestions.  As I typed this the num lock just went off.

Hi teamkobza,

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the windows help article below.

Back up the registry**http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Back-up-the-registry**

a.    Go to start and type regedit.exe.

b.    Navigate to HKEY_USERS.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard.

c.    You'll see an entry on the right called InitialKeyboardIndicators. The "usual" default value is 0. Double click on this entry and change the value to 2.

Note: As you do not have this, you will need to create a key manually. Right click on “Keyboard”-> click New-> Key-> Name it as InitialKeyboardIndicators. Double-click onInitialKeyboardIndicators andset its value data to 2.

d.    Close registry editor.

Restart the computer. The issue should be fixed by now.

Regards,

Divya R – Microsoft Support.

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.