How to enable NumLock by default?

I have selected this option in the CMOS BIOS setup and I found an article on M$'s winhelp site that details editing registry entries to do this, but I have followed the steps 'till I am blue in the fingers, and the NumLock still defaults OFF!

Running Win2kServer on an AMD K6-2/350 with 384 Mb RAM

Any personal experience w/ this glitch?

Words of wisdom?

Theories, tips, comiseration?

TIA,

KBear

 

a couple of Microsoft Knowledge Base links may help...
Q123498 and Q102978 at this link....
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?ln=EN-US&pr=kbinfo&
and a couple of notes.
----------------------------
To correct this problem, press CTRL+ALT+DEL and choose Logoff to log off. This procedure permanently saves the NumLock key state when you log off.
---------------------------------
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard

InitialKeyboardIndicators: REG_SZ: NUMBER

Default: 0

2 = 0n
----------------------------------
I am using WinXP and it just remembers the state that I leave it in. ( it rewrites the registry I noticed)

 

Rich -

thanks for the reply

I have tried it over and over, but after I logout and log back in, or even shut down and restart, the keyboard initial setting registry entry is always reset to = 0!

I found a reference in one of the Knowledge Base articles to the efffect that 'Win XP remembers the state of the NumLock key' which makes me think that they would not have mentioned it if it was not a new feature, so maybe I can't do this in Win2K?

KBear

 

My pc has a bios setting for num lock being on, I would check in there to see if there is anything.

Jim

 

Already checked there - it's set ON

Win 2k either ignores or overrides that setting

KBear

 

Were you logged in with an Admin account when you tried? If not, the changes won't stick.

 

Wanna trade?

I've got one that stay ON all the time. I've all but given up on it long ago but I'll stay tuned here for something new to try.

I honestly think it's a BIOS defect in my case but I'm not going to flash it for something that trivial.

 

win2k Pro solution

I've had the same experience, and my team solved it. 2 steps:
1 - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators=2
reboot

if numlock still off:
2 - HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators=2
reboot

I KNOW that it's supposed to be a mirror of HKCU but it works for us. Hehe. I can't believe I found a post about this!

Windows doesn't use the CMOS (BIOS) setting for numlock, probably cuz BIOS's are not "required" to access that setting. Too bad they didn't put in *one* more line of code to check and use that if it's available. Go Open Source, Go! We are an NT/Win2k shop hungrily leaning to BSD or Linux. Our only "gate "? MS Office and the secretaries that use it. Yes, I KNOW about staroffice, but thanks for the thought.

 

Yup. 'Nix is nice. If you don't need serious OS support. If you know exactly what code changes the various flavors have made from "standard" unix.

I have also noticed that some of the "latest & greatest" versions with lots of fancy stuff added in will no longer run on the minimal hardware that was a major selling point for Linux.

As of now and strictly IMO, excellent OS for some server-type situations and for us geeky types to run as a workstation. Not so great for Joe-user's PC and especially since he will have friends who rave about the latest software or features on their M$ or Fruit PC.