{"id":3764,"date":"2016-08-10T10:31:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T05:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=3764"},"modified":"2022-12-24T09:01:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T03:31:59","slug":"winkey-shortcuts-not-working-enable-all-hotkeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/winkey-shortcuts-not-working-enable-all-hotkeys\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix: Windows Key (WinKey) Does Not Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Windows includes several Windows logo key (WinKey) shortcut combinations to launch programs. If these built-in WinKey keystrokes do not work in your system, they may have been blocked in the registry.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Winkey shortcuts are real time savers, and here are some of the popular WinKey shortcuts. Here are some of the most used WinKey shortcuts.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Windows logo key Shortcut<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Description<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + E<\/td>\n<td>Opens an Explorer window<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + R<\/td>\n<td>Opens Run dialog<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + L<\/td>\n<td>Locks the computer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + D<\/td>\n<td>Shows Desktop (background)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + M<\/td>\n<td>Minimizes all open windows<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WinKey + 1<\/td>\n<td>Launches the 1st Pinned Taskbar shortcut. Similarly, you can use 0, 1, 2 upto 9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><i>There are many such keyboard shortcuts &#8211; the above is some of the most used shortcuts in our everyday life. You may also want to check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/master-list-keyboard-shortcuts-windows-10\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complete List of Keyboard shortcuts in Windows<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Cause<\/h2>\n<p>There are situations where your favorite Winkey shortcuts don&#8217;t work. This is caused due to a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You&#8217;ve inadvertently disabled the Win key on your gaming keyboard.<\/li>\n<li>Incorrect <strong>Scancode Map<\/strong> registry setting that disables WinKey.<\/li>\n<li>One of the Group Policies or registry settings is preventing the use of WinKey hotkeys.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fix: WinKey Shortcuts Not Working<\/h2>\n<h3>Case 1: Turn off the Win Lock Key<\/h3>\n<p>If none of the Win Key shortcuts work, you may have accidentally pressed the Win Lock key on your gaming keyboard if you&#8217;re using one. Some keyboards have the Win Lock key with an independent LED indicator to show the status of the key<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31218\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/k70-win-lock-button.png\" alt=\"win lock key\" width=\"500\" height=\"243\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have a separate Win Lock button on the keyboard, then check your keyboard manual to see if the Win Lock feature exists for that model.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Examples:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>On ASUS systems, you can enable the Win Key via Armoury Crate. The option exists in the lower right corner of Armoury Crate.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31219\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/armoury-win-key-lock.png\" alt=\"asus armourycrate win lock\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/armoury-win-key-lock.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/armoury-win-key-lock-768x412.png 768w, https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/armoury-win-key-lock-1536x824.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>For <span class=\"markxhdz3tj85\" data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Razer<\/span> keyboards, Fn + F10 will enable\/disable gaming mode. The &#8220;Win&#8221; key will be disabled when the gaming mode is switched on. Or to enable or disable gaming mode on your Razer keyboard via Razer Synapse, open Razer Synapse 3 and go to \u201cKEYBOARD\u201d \u2192 \u201cCUSTOMIZE.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The keyboard shortcut varies from model to model. It could be Fn + F6 or Fn + Win on your model of the keyboard.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Case 2: WinKey and none of the WinKey shortcuts work<\/h3>\n<p>If the WinKey doesn&#8217;t work (and none of the WinKey shortcuts work), follow these steps to fix the problem:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Start the Registry Editor (<code>regedit.exe<\/code>)<\/li>\n<li>Delete the value named <code>NoWinKeys<\/code> if it exists in the following branches.\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer\r\n\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer<\/pre>\n<p>The <code>NoWinKeys<\/code> registry value, if exists, turns off all the WinKey hotkeys. This registry value corresponds to the <strong>Turn off Windows+X hotkeys<\/strong> Group Policy Object located in the following branch of the Group Policy Editor (<code>gpedit.msc<\/code>)<\/p>\n<pre>Administrative Templates \u2192 Windows Components \u2192 Windows Explorer<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Then, go to the following key:\n<pre>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Keyboard Layout<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Right-click the value named <code><strong>Scancode Map<\/strong><\/code> and choose Delete.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5022\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/winkey-scancode-map-enable.png\" alt=\"WinKey Shortcuts Not Working\" width=\"675\" height=\"219\" \/><br \/>\n<em>For example, the <strong>ScanCode Map<\/strong> registry value, if set to the following, can disable the Windows Logo key altogether. This value doesn&#8217;t exist by default in a standard Windows installation.<\/em><\/p>\n<pre>00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,5B,E0,00,00,5C,E0,00,00,00,00<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Exit the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<li>Restart Windows for the changes to take effect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Case 3: Only some of the WinKey shortcuts work<\/h3>\n<p>If some (not all) of the WinKey shortcuts work in your system, follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Start the Registry Editor (<code>regedit.exe<\/code>) and go to the following locations:\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\r\n\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced<\/pre>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/winkey_enable_all.png\" alt=\"winkey shortcuts enable all\" width=\"650\" height=\"198\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Right-click <code>DisabledHotkeys<\/code> if it exists in any of the above locations, and choose <strong>Delete<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Exit the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The <code>DisabledHotkeys<\/code> registry value is used to disable certain WinKey shortcuts. If you want to prevent Win + E and Win + R from opening Explorer and Run respectively, you set the value data for <code>DisabledHotkeys<\/code> to <code>ER<\/code>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Another Example:<\/strong> If <code>DisabledHotkeys<\/code> is set to <code>12XE<\/code>, it blocks WinKey shortcut sequence &#8212; WinKey + 1, WinKey + 2, WinKey + X, WinKey + E.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Download Registry fix to automate the above steps<\/h3>\n<p>To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-use-reg-files-registration-entries-windows\/\">automate<\/a> the above steps &#8212; i.e., deleting <code>DisabledHotkeys<\/code> and <code>NoWinKeys<\/code> and the <code>ScanCode Map<\/code> registry values, you may use the .reg file &#8211; <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/winkey_enable_all.zip\">winkey_enable_all.reg<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Here is what the .reg file contains:<\/p>\n<pre>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n;ENABLES WINKEY AND ALL THE WINKEY SHORTCUT COMBINATIONS.\r\n;https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced]\r\n\"DisabledHotkeys\"=-\r\n\r\n[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced]\r\n\"DisabledHotkeys\"=-\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\ Explorer]\r\n\"NoWinkeys\"=-\r\n\r\n[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\ Explorer]\r\n\"NoWinkeys\"=-\r\n\r\n[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Keyboard Layout]\r\n\"ScanCode Map\"=-<\/pre>\n<h3>Related Posts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/winkey-e-shortcut-target-change\/\">How to Change WinKey + E Shortcut Target<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/assign-hotkey-windows-10-start-menu-shortcuts\/\">Windows Start Menu Shortcuts &#8211; Assign Shortcut Keys<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/master-list-keyboard-shortcuts-windows-10\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complete List of Keyboard shortcuts in Windows<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Windows includes several Windows logo key (WinKey) shortcut combinations to launch programs. If these built-in WinKey keystrokes do not work in your system, they may have been blocked in the registry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-3764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3178,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/winkey-e-shortcut-target-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":0},"title":"How to Change Win + E Shortcut Target in Windows 10\/11","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The WinKey + E keystroke, as well as the File Explorer shortcut on the taskbar, open Quick access view by default. You can change the default folder to This PC using Folder Options General tab, or make it open to the Downloads\u00a0folder using a registry method. But, how to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"File Explorer shortcut","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/winkey-e-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5100,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/screenshot-portion-screen-windows-10-winkey-shift-s\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":1},"title":"Screenshot a Portion of the Screen in Windows 10\/11 [Winkey+Shift+S]","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Starting with the Windows 10 v1703 (also known as Creators Update), OneNote's popular screenshot feature has been made an Operating System feature -- you can capture a specific region of your screen to the clipboard using the Win + Shift + S shortcut key. Screenshot a Portion of the Screen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"snipping tool save screenshots automatically","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-save-screenshots.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-save-screenshots.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-save-screenshots.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4533,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-file-explorer-downloads-folder-default-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":2},"title":"How to Change File Explorer Default Start Folder in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Windows 10 File Explorer opens to Quick access by default. Quick access is a section where you can place shortcuts to your favorite folders. It also displays recently viewed files and frequently used folders. If you're not a fan of the Quick access feature and want File Explorer to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"open file explorer to downloads folder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived2\/w10-file-expl-this-pc.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2059,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/winx-menu-does-not-open-power-user\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":3},"title":"Win+X Menu Does Not Open in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Right-clicking Start, or pressing the Win+X key combination opens the power-user menu as in the following image: If this menu doesn't open or nothing happens when you use the Win+X key combination, it could be possible that the IsShortcut registry value has been removed for shortcuts (.lnk) file association. Follow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/winxmenu-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1089,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-currency-stock-weather-gadgets-not-updating-windows-7-vista\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":4},"title":"[Fix] Currency, Stock or Weather Gadgets Not Updating in Windows 7","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Did the Currency, Stock, or the Weather Gadget got stuck and stopped updating in your Windows 7\/Vista computer all of a sudden? Clearing the Sidebar Gadgets cache using the following steps might help. Clear the Windows Sidebar Cache Folder Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to bring up the Task Manager. Exit Sidebar.exe process\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 7&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 7","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-7\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/sidebar-cache-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5112,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/capture-screen-region-snippingtool-clip-shortcut-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":3764,"position":5},"title":"Snipping Tool Command-line to Capture Screen Region","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 10 (Creators Update and higher) and Windows 11 includes the capability to capture a screen region using Win + Shift + S shortcut key, as mentioned in the article Screenshot a Portion of the Screen [Winkey+Shift+S]. Contents Create Snipping Tool Shortcut to Capture Screen Region Using Snipping Tool Issue:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"snippingtool.exe \/clip command-line","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-clip-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-clip-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/snipping-tool-clip-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}