Windows key woes....

How do I disable that ridiculously stupid waste of plastic?

Seriously, who has ever DILIGENTLY used that key...the startmenu isn't important.

all it does to me is minimize the application that I want to see when I try to press control or alt....

how can I disable it, or, better yet, re map it to another funtional key?

 

I use it a lot. windows key + e opens explorer. Windows key + r opens the run dialog. It offers a handful of shortcuts I use often.
I also made a little app that maps windows key + backspace to "terminate the foreground process". Useful when a game hangs.

But your wish is my command. Here is how you do it. Remember the procedure, because it is often a very useful one:
First, you point your browser of choice to http://www.google.com
Next, you type in the search field, "disable windows key".
Then you click Search.
And then you click on the first result it shows

Seriously, Google doesn't bite. You should try looking for solutions there, it's often a lot easier and more convenient

 

not to hijack the thread, but any chance you can release that for us.. i have a feeling many people on this board would find that very helpful.

I use the windows key + L all the time--switch users quickly!

 

that would eliminate the purpose of pretty much all the NBR forums, as there are alternative sources for all the information. But, I understand your point.

 

Funny thing point came up - I rarely use the Windows key, too, but Vista's aero glass feature is based in (lol) win+tab.

I have never heard of a way to remap that key - it is kind of like the Fn key for many notebooks.

 

except I have a fn key too....

 

Haha, of course.
Download here
Quick guide:
- windows key + escape closes the application itself (handy because it doesn't have a window, or show up in taskbar or anywhere else)
- windows key + print screen makes it go "beep" (Handy for finding out whether the app is actually running, again because it doesn't show up anywhere other than task manager)
- windows key + backspace destroys the current foreground process. (With a few exceptions: Trillian, Visual Studio, Photoshop, one or two other programs, as well as *everything* located under your windows dir, is exempt. If one of these is at the foreground, nothing will happen)

I made it for the Company of Heroes beta, which, until a few days ago, tended to crash all the time in the multiplayer lobby. And when it did crash, it took several minutes to actually finish crashing. So now I can almost instantly kill it as soon as it starts acting up. Also turned out to be a handy shortcut when I'm just too impatient to wait for something else to close down normally.

Well, my point was just that it's always a good idea to start on google, at least with one quick search. If the answer isn't immediately apparent, then it's a good time to start asking on forums. But sometimes, the answer is *really* easy to find.

 

Disable:
1) http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_windows_key/
2) http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/903/
3) Rip out key from keyboard

Remapping Windows Key:
1) http://weblogs.macromedia.com/cantrell/archives/2005/08/remapping_your.cfm
2) http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid1_gci962513,00.html

 

thanks jalf... works like a charm on my #1 culprit--steam. And IE. If i ever decide to use that program again...

 

the windows key is awesome.

if you don't use the shortcuts, you're missing out.

you're not one of those people who uses the mouse for everything, are you?

 

I have the extra mouse buttons mapped for hotkey sequences. I usually don't use my computer for things that require opening up the junk that comes on the windows key.

I do, however, like the windows backspace thing to kill the app. That's cool. But all the other stuff is a waste to me. the only reason I use the run menu is to load msconfig, something I do once every year.

 

I never knew there were shortcut keys until XP. How did I ever live without win+e. I always use file explorer to view drive contents, move etc.