This is the first time I’ve come across this Numlock key problem, where it is not enabled on Windows start-up. I’ve been playing with computers for long enough to know that Numlock ON can be enabled in the BIOS/UEFI and is usually set to ON as the default. However, in a new build using an Asus Prime B550M-A-AC AM4 motherboard and a clean Windows 11 Pro install, Numlock is not enabled. The first things I look for after building a new PC are how the keyboard reacts – if everything is normal, the Numlock key light usually comes on, and then I hit Caps Lock just to be sure that the boot is running as it should. And I always go straight into UEFI to check the status and temperatures. Anyway, I went back into the UEFI, and Numlock was ON.
Further investigation through some reliable sites suggested turning off UEFI Fast Boot along with Windows Fast Start-Up, so that’s what I did, but it made no difference.
Hack The Registry To Force Numlock ON At Start-up
Standard Registry Editing Warning: The following instructions will ask you to edit your Windows Registry. Be sure to make a backup of your Registry before you make any changes. Making mistakes in the Registry can cause hard-to-diagnose problems or even keep Windows from functioning properly. If you don’t know how to back up your Registry, please read Windows Quick Tips – Backup/Restore Registry.
After a great deal of searching, I found a Registry hack that works as follows:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard and double click on InitialKeyboardIndicators and change the setting to 2.
Then go to Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard and double click on InitialKeyboardIndicators and change the setting to 2.
Then repeat the process for the folders beginning with S within the HKEY_USERS folder (Computer\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators and change the setting to 2.
There are some other steps one can take after making these changes in the Registry, such as restarting the computer, hitting the Numlock key, then shutting down the PC, and then restarting as normal. The Numlock key should then be enabled/lit. I didn’t find this step necessary because the Registry hack did the trick.
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