How to Change Default of the NumLock Key

The NumLock key on your keyboard turns the NumLock on and off. When the NumLock is on, you can use the number keypad, and when it is off, you cannot use the number keypad. You can change the status of the number keypad by pushing the NumLock key once, but after you restart your NumLock will go back to the default. Fortunately, you can change the default setting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Go to the Start menu. From the Start menu choose "Run."

2. Type in "regedit." Hit "OK" to open the regedit application. This allows you to change your computer's default settings.

3. Navigate to the keyboard's default settings. Using the navigation bar at the left, choose "HKey_Users" then "Default" then "Control Panel" and finally "Keyboard."

4. Look at the right side of the window. On the right are the various default options you can change for your keyboard. Double click on "InitialKeyboardIndicators" to change the NumLock default. A window will pop up.

5. Change the NumLock default by entering a 0 or 2 in the "Value Data" field. Enter a 0 to have the NumLock set to off by default. To set the NumLock to on by default, enter 2. Hit the "OK" button to save your changes.

6. Restart you computer. Your NumLock default changes will not take effect until your computer has been restarted.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid making any other changes in the regedit application. Changing default registry settings can be dangerous, so be careful not to accidentally change any entries. If you do make a mistake, hit the "Cancel" button.