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How to disable the keyboard Windows key

Article ID:216893
Last Review:April 27, 2007
Revision:2.5
This article was previously published under Q216893

SUMMARY

It is possible to disable the Windows key that is now available on many new computer keyboards. This key usually provides shortcut access to the Start button or other Windows NT functions.

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 disable the Windows key, do the following steps:
1.Click Start, click Run, type regedt32, and then click OK.
2.On the Windows menu, click HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE on Local Machine.
3.Click the System\CurrentControlSet\Control folder, and then double-click the Keyboard Layout folder.
4.On the Edit menu, click Add Value, type in Scancode Map, click REG_BINARY as the Data Type, and then click OK.
5.Type 00000000000000000300000000005BE000005CE000000000 in the Data field, and then click OK.
6.Close the Registry Editor and restart the computer.

APPLIES TO
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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Keywords: 
kbenv kbinfo KB216893

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