If you need to fix your keyboard on windows

- 2 minutes read - 344 words

If you happen to be cursed into having to use windows but want a ’l33t h4x0r keyboard (Dvorak keyboard, with caps lock turned into control) like I use the following documents are excellent.

  1. Add the Dvorak keyboard layout via the control panel, hit the ‘make default’ button.

OK, so now you’re Dvorak-ized. Awesome.

Not awesome, windows uses QWERTY as default for the login. This sux0rz.

Do the following (taken from This Tech-Ed document. By the way, you should probably back up your registry. I didn’t but I don’t want to be responsible if you do something stupid doing this ( I didn’t backup, but I’m foolish like that).

  1. Log on to Windows NT using the Dvorak keyboard layout.
  2. Using Registry Editor, change the “Preload” value to 00010409 in the following registry key: HKey_Users\.Default\KeyboardLayout\

MORE INFORMATION

The Preload value for the Dvorak U.S. English keyboard layout is 00010409. The Preload value for the standard U.S. English keyboard layout is 00000409.

Got it - that’s go in and change the Preload value.

Reboot and that should stick. Now you’re Dvorak thru and thru (and see someone try to log in as you - suckers).

All right, but you still have that worthless caps lock there – OR you’re stretching like finger yoga when you use an emacs session. Not good. Let’s turn Caps to control.

Oddly I found this one on a slashdot Read More… who knew!

Here’s how I made capslock an extra control in Windows 2000/XP.

Go to this path in the registry editor: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Keyboard Layout

In that registry path, add a new binary value, like so:

Name: Scancode Map
Type: REG_BINARY
Data:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
02 00 00 00 1D 00 3A 00
00 00 00 00

This required a reboot to take effect (for me, anyway).

(Thanks Falzer! - I sent him a nice email).

Reboot once more (hey it’s Windows, you’re used to rebooting, no?).

So now you’ve got the dopest keyboard layout known about town, clown.

w00t.