Turning F-Lock key ON automatically
Category: General
On certain Microsoft keyboards, the function keys (F1, F2, F3, etc.) will not work normally unless you press the F-Lock key. Arrogantly flouting decades of keyboard convention, Microsoft markets "Natural" and "Multimedia" and "Office" keyboards that have the F-keys reassigned to common Microsoft Office actions. Here's how to fix it...
Unfortunately Microsoft made the F-Lock key a hardware switch in the keyboard and its default state is set to OFF, every time the computer is started. As a result, users are frustrated when the function keys do something unexpected because they forgot to hit the F-Lock key to restore the functions keys to their normal state.
There are three solutions to this problem:
- Remember to press the F-Lock key every time you start your computer.
- Use this free utility to automatically turn F-Lock on. (Works only in Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003)
- Hack the Windows registry to alter the key mappings after Windows starts up. (Works only in Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003)
If you're still using Windows ME or Windows 98, you're stuck with the manual method.