The numeric lock key is very important since it lets you type the numerals. If you’re an office worker or use your PC for accounting purposes, you may want the NUM Lock key to be always enabled. To keep the Num Lock key enabled all the time, here’s what you need to do.
1. Turn Off the Fast Startup
You should turn off Windows 11’s Fast Startup feature to retain your Num Lock Preference. Disabling Fast Startup will ensure that your Num Lock Preference won’t change after a restart or shutdown.
1. Open the Control Panel from the Windows Search.
2. On the All Control Panel items screen, click Power Options.
3. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
4. Click Change Settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Uncheck the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option and click Save Changes.
2. Modify the Registry to Keep NUM Lock Enabled
If you don’t want to turn off the Fast Startup option, you can permanently enable Num Lock by modifying the Registry file. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Open the Registry Editor from the Windows Search.
2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to this path:
Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard
3. Double-click the InitialKeyboardIndicators.
4. On the Value Data field, type 2 and click OK.
After modifying the Registry file, restart your Windows 11 PC. Your Num Lock key will be enabled all the time from now on.
3. Create a Script to Keep Num Lock Permanently Enabled
Not everyone is comfortable handling the Registry. If you’re one of those, you can create a script and set it to run automatically at Startup. This will keep the Num Lock enabled all the time.
1. Open Notepad on your Windows 11 PC.
2. When Notepad opens, paste the given script into it:
set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.SendKeys "{NUMLOCK}"
3. Click on the File and select Save As.
4. On the Save As Prompt, save the file with any name with the .vbs extension. Also, make sure ‘All files’ is selected in the Save as type.
5. Copy the .vbs file you’ve created and open the File Explorer. In the File Explorer, paste shell:startup in the Address bar and press Enter. Alternatively, press Windows Key + R and on the RUN dialog box, type the same address and press Enter.
6. In the Startup folder, paste the .vbs file you’ve created.
After every restart or shutdown, the .vbs file will run automatically and keep the Num Lock enabled.
These are a few simple methods to keep the Num Lock enabled all the time on a Windows 11 PC. If you need more help with this topic, let us know in the comments.
