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How to enable the NUM LOCK key for the logon screen

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Article ID:154529
Last Review:February 20, 2007
Revision:3.2
This article was previously published under Q154529

NOTE: This article does not apply to Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server. It also does not apply to Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server running Terminal Services.

SUMMARY

The status of the NUM LOCK key is specific for each user, and it is disabled by default. If you want the NUM LOCK key enabled for use before a user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL to log on, you must use Registry Editor to change the default behavior.

MORE INFORMATION

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 following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To enable NUM LOCK before a user logs on, use the steps below.

1.Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2.Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard.
3.Change the value for InitialKeyboardIndicators from 0 to 2.
Additional references:
217884 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/217884/EN-US/) NUM LOCK Setting Reset After Logging Off Terminal Server

262625 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/262625/EN-US/) How to Set the NUM LOCK State at Logon Using a Logon Script ID
APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
•Microsoft Windows XP Professional
•Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
•Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
•Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
•Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
•Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
•Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
•Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
•Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
•Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

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