Toggle Keys at Startup

How to Enable or Disable a Toggle Key at Startup in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8

information   Information
A toggle key is the Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock keys. These are disabled by default in Vista at startup. You can enable or disable a toggle key by pressing it. Usually there is a light for each key that indicates when the toggle key is enabled or disabled.

Tip   Tip
Sometimes there is a setting in the BIOS to turn one or more of these toggle keys on or off. This can override your setting in the tutorial below. You should check there first.





OPTION ONE
At Startup for a User Account

NOTE: Normally, the user account will startup with the same state of the toggle key as you last left it at logoff or shutdown of that user account.
1. Press the toggle keys to turn them On or Off for how you want them at startup.​
2. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.​
3. If prompted by UAC, click on Continue (Vista) or Yes (Windows 7/8).​
4. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)​
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard

5. In the right pane, double click/tap on InitialKeyboardIndicators to modify it.​
Current_User.jpg

6. Type in a number in the table below for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below table)​

Number

Description

0

All indicators off (Default setting)

1

Caps Lock on

2

Num Lock on

3

Caps Lock and Num Lock on

4

Scroll 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

Modify_Current_User.jpg

7. Close regedit.​
8. Log off and log on to set the change.​




OPTION TWO
At Startup for the Logon Screen

NOTE: This is before you logon to a user account. You will either need to do this in a Administrator account or have regedit Run as administrator in a Standard account.
1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.​
2. If prompted by UAC, click on Continue (Vista) or Yes (Windows 7/8).​
3. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)​
HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard
4. In the right pane, double click/tap on InitialKeyboardIndicators to modify it.​
Before_Logon.jpg
5. Type in a number below for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below table)​
NOTE: It is safe to change this longer default number 2147483648 (decimal equivalent of 0x80000000). It acts the same as 0.

Number

Description

0

All indicators off (Default setting)

1

Caps Lock on

2

Num Lock on

3

Caps Lock and Num Lock on

4

Scroll 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

Modify_Before_Logon.jpg

6. Close regedit.​

That's it,
Shawn



 

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Thanks For The Redirect To Tutorials, Although Very Clear To Follow, Despite Regedit, I Can Only Boot Up With Num Locks On--no Cap Lock.
Any Further Ideas?
 

My Computer

Hi DRIAB1,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

Have you checked in the BIOS to see if a setting in there may be interfering with this one? Usually there is a option in the BIOS to turn one or more toggle keys on or off at startup.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Number Lock default info for HP/Compaq Notebooks, when BIOS cannot be accessed ~
Although the info on most blogs is from 2007 era, some of us are just now learning the Vista system. I spent 90 minutes searching and never found this info. Most info states "after logon" regarding the default state of Num Lock.

Shawn's regedit method works fine, and yes it does change the default state to on if a 2 is entered. Here is the catch - the number keypad is enabled at logon and stays enabled for users, however the indicator light does not get turned on.

For the light to come on, one must toggle the number lock off then back on. I hope this might ease some of the confusion.
:cool: Steve
 

My Computer

Thank you Steve for sharing this. Welcome to Vista Forums. :)

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I have tried both registry suggestions and can only get the default NumLoc to come on during Logon (to type password). It turns off again when the icons appear during booting.

Steve's suggestion does not seem valid for me.

Anyone have any other suggestions ??


bec1088
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP dv9830us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T5550
    Motherboard
    30D2, version 79.1D
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
    Hard Drives
    320 GB - WDC WD3200BEVT-60ZCT00
Hello Bec, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Sometimes there is a setting in the BIOS to turn one or more of these toggle keys on or off. This can override your setting in the tutorial below. You should check there to see if this may be the case.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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