If you want to find a way to disable the Windows 
key, when playing a game or when doing other tasks on your Windows 10/11 PC, continue reading below.
The Windows key on your keyboard can be used to quickly open the Start menu, or in combination with other keys to do other actions in Windows, such as to open File Explorer (Windows key + E), Settings (Windows key + I), the “Run” command box (Windows key + R), etc..
But if you’re a gamer, you may want to disable the Windows key to avoid your game being interrupted if you accidentally press the Windows key. So if you are looking for a way to turn off/on the Windows key, follow the instructions in one of methods below.
Method 1. Disable the Windows key in Gaming or Laptop Keyboards.
Some modern gaming keyboards has a WINLOCK (Win Lock) key, that allows to turn off or on the Windows key quickly. So, if you own a gaming keyboard see if there is a Win Lock key and if so press it to disable or enable the Windows key.
If you own a laptop, try one of the following combinations and see if you can deactivate or activate the Windows key with them:
- Fn + F6
- Fn + Windows
key - Fn + Space bar
Method 2. Disable Windows key in Registry on Windows 11/10.
The next method to deactivate the Windows key is by disabling it in Registry. To do that:
1. Right-click at Start menu and select Run.
2. Type CMD and press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to open Command Prompt as Administrator.
3. In the command prompt, copy-paste the following command and press Enter:
- REG ADD “HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layout” /f /v “Scancode Map” /t REG_BINARY /d 00000000000000000300000000005BE000005CE000000000
4. Now restart your PC to apply the change. After the restart the Windows key will not work nor will its combinations with other keys to perform other functions. (e.g. “Win + E”, “Win +R”, etc..)
To Activate the Windows key again:
1. Right-click at Start menu and select Run.
2. Type regedit and press OK (or Enter) to open the Registry Editor.
3. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:*
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layout
4. At the right pane right-click at “Scancode Map” REG_BINARY value and select Delete.
5. Close the Registry Editor and restart your PC to apply the change.
Method 3. Disable the Windows key with WinKill Utility.
Another method to disable the Windows key, is by using the WinKill utility from Majogeeks, which works in Windows 11/10, Windows 7, Vista and XP.
1. Download WinKill utility from Majogeeks.
2. Extract the downloaded zip file to a folder and then run the WinKill.exe (Click “RUN” at Security warning message)
3. That it. Press the Windows key and see that it no longer works because it is disabled.
4. To re-enable the Windows key, click once at the WinKill icon in taskbar to remove the red cross or restart your computer.
That’s all folks! Did it work for you?
Please leave a comment in the comment section below or even better: like and share this blog post in the social networks to help spread the word about this solution.
