Disabling the Windows Key on Microsoft Natural Keyboard

ID: Q181348

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

Administrators who want to lock down computers running Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and Server in secure environments (for example, demonstration workstations and kiosks) may need to disable the Windows keyboard commands found on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard and compatible keyboards.


MORE INFORMATION

System policies can be defined to limit access to items on the Windows NT 4.0 desktop and start menu, including the Run and Find commands on the Start menu.

Default and existing user profiles can be customized to add or remove application shortcuts visible to the user. Administrators wanting to deny access to local and network files may remove the Windows NT 4.0 Explorer application, Explorer.exe, from the Start menu in addition to the My Computer application.

Even when the icon for Explorer has been removed from the Start menu and desktop, users with a Microsoft Natural Keyboard or other compatible keyboard can use the Windows+E shortcut key to start Explorer.

The following script used in conjunction with the Regini.exe utility from the Windows NT 4.0 resource kit disables the left and right Windows keys on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard and other compatible keyboards.

To disable all Windows keyboard shortcut keys, save the following text in a REGINI script called Disable_wins.ini. Run the script from the Windows NT command prompt. For example, from the C:\users\default> prompt, type "regini disable_wins.ini" (without the quotation marks). Restart the computer to make the changes take effect. 


   [REGINI SCRIPT STARTS HERE:]

   ;
   ; This mapping is used to turn both Windows keys off
   ;
   \Registry\Machine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
       Scancode Map = REG_BINARY 24    \ 
           0x00000000 0x00000000 3     \ 
           0xE05B0000 0xE05C0000       \ 
           0x0

   ; Here is an explanation of all the values:
   ;
   ; 24         Size of the scancode map including header, in bytes
   ; 0x00000000 Header : Version
   ; 0x00000000        : Flags
   ; 3                 : Number of entries (includes null terminator)
   ; 0xE05B0000 left Windows -> nul (0xE0 0x5b -> 0x00)
   ; 0xE05C0000 right Windows -> nul (0xE0 0x5c -> 0x00)
   ; 0x00000000 null terminator

   [REGINI SCRIPT ENDS HERE]

For additional information on Microsoft Natural Keyboard shortcuts, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q126449
TITLE : Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 95

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" online Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To remove this mapping, delete the following key in Regedt32.exe:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard
Layout\Scancode Map

NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

Restart the computer to make the changes take effect. If modifications to the registry prevent the use of the keyboard during interactive logon attempts and you have two computers on a network, use REGEDT32 over the network to delete the scancode mapping.

Additional query words: keyboard mapping scancode 


Keywords          : ntdomain NTSrvWkst 
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 2, 1999