How to disable the Windows key

1. Home
2. How-to
3. Windows

How to disable the Windows central

(Paradigm credit: Shutterstock)

Many gamers want to know how to disable the Windows fundamental on their keyboard. Pressing it accidentally while playing a game on your PC can open the Start card or trigger a "hotkey" keyboard shortcut that snaps you right out of what you're doing.

These hotkeys include "Windows cardinal + R" for opening the Run box, "Windows key + D" for showing (and hiding) the desktop, and "Windows key + L" for locking your screen. Sometimes these shortcuts can be very useful, but when you're involved in something important, exist it a game, video phone call, or intensive work, they can prove very annoying. Worst of all, there are two Windows keys on your keyboard, which doubles your chance of hit one at an inconvenient moment.

• The best keyboards for schoolhouse or abode apply
• How to plough off automatic updates in Windows 10
• How to plow off Windows Defender temporarily

Dedicated gaming keyboards solve this problem by automatically disabling the Windows key when you switch to "Gaming mode," but on standard keyboards, the key can exist a real nuisance.

Fortunately, there are several means to tweak the Windows key and so that it doesn't interrupt your gaming and other activities. You can either toggle it on or off as required, deactivate hotkeys but keep the Start menu-opening function, or disable it altogether.

In our guide below, we'll explain three ways to disable the Windows key, so you can use the one that best suits your needs,

How to disable the Windows key using WinKill

The easiest style to disable the Windows central in Windows 10 is to apply a tiny free programme chosen WinKill. This has the advantage over other methods of letting yous toggle the Windows key on and off as required. Here's how to use it.

1. Download WinKill from Major Geeks . The programme hasn't been updated for several years, and was originally designed for Windows XP, Vista, and 7, but it works merely fine in Windows ten.

Extract the contents of the cypher file, so double-click the WinKill executable file to run the program.

(Paradigm credit: Tom'south Guide)

2. WinKill doesn't require installation and yous might remember cypher has happened, but you should see its icon appear in the organization tray on your taskbar.

If not, click the up arrow in the system tray and await for a Windows logo with a red cross through it. Elevate this icon onto your taskbar for easy access.

(Paradigm credit: Tom'southward Guide)

3. Press your Window key and you'll now find that it doesn't respond because WinKill has disabled information technology. To activate the key again, either click the WinKill icon to remove the cerise cross, or correct-click information technology and cull "Toggle."

Alternatively, you lot can close WinKill and restore the Windows key by selecting "Exit." The program doesn't run on Windows startup, so you'll need to run information technology manually each time you lot need it.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

How to disable the Windows cardinal by editing the Registry

If you never use any Windows cardinal hotkeys, you can tweak the key so y'all don't have to worry about triggering them accidentally. Y'all can do this in Windows 10 past editing the registry. This will still let you press the Windows key to open the Start carte du jour.

1. Type "regedit" in the Windows search box and click "Run as administrator" next to the Registry Editor result.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the post-obit key, or just copy and paste it into the Registry Editor address bar and printing Enter:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

three. You should see a value in the right-hand pane of the window chosen "NoWinkeys." If non, right-click an empty space in that pane and choose "New," and so "DWORD (32-bit) Value." Telephone call the value "NoWinkeys."

(Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

four. Double-click the NoWinkeys value and change its value data from "0" to "one." Click OK to confirm.

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

5. Restart your PC and press the Windows key. This will nevertheless open the Outset menu, but it won't trigger any hotkeys that interrupt your gameplay and other activities.

To re-enable hotkeys, go dorsum to the same registry key and either change the NoWinkeys value information back to "0" or delete that value.

How to disable the Windows key using PowerToys

If you'd prefer to disable the Windows primal completely, so that it doesn't do anything when pressed, you can "remap" it using Microsoft PowerToys. This set of tools for tweaking Windows 10 is free to download and packed with useful options. Here'southward how to use its Keyboard Manager.

1. Visit the GitHub page for Microsoft PowerToys and download the PowerToysSetup executable file. You'll observe the link at the bottom of the page.

Install the program on your PC and launch it from the Get-go menu.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2. When PowerToys opens, click the "Keyboard Director" option in the left-hand menu and cull Settings.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

3. Ensure that "Enable Keyboard Manager" is switched on and click the "Remap a key" push to open up the "Remap keys" window.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

four. Click the plus button, then click the "Primal" driblet-down menu. Gyre downward to "Win" and select that selection. Now click the "Mapped To" drop-downward menu and cull Disable. Click OK to confirm.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

5. Windows will warn you lot that you won't be able to apply the Win key anymore. Every bit this is what you lot want, click "Continue Anyway."

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

Both Windows keys on your keyboard will be instantly disabled, with no need to restart your PC.

To re-enable the Windows central, merely close PowerTools: correct-click its icon in the system tray and choose "Exit."

• How to remove the Windows 10 news and weather widget
• How to uninstall Cortana from Windows 10
• How to uninstall Microsoft Edge and stop it reinstalling
• How to hibernate desktop icons in Windows
• How to proceed your PC awake without touching information technology
• How to change keyboard language - in Windows and macOS
• How to type an em dash on Windows and macOS

Robert Irvine is How-To Editor at Tom's Guide. He has been writing tutorials nearly software, hardware, websites and other tech topics since the days of dial-up modems, and was previously the editor of Web User magazine. Robert enjoys cooking, and makes a hateful sausage goulash, only is definitely non the celebrity chef of the same proper noun.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-disable-the-windows-key

Posted by: gaincraw1975.blogspot.com

Share this post