Disable Function Keys During the Boot Sequence (Windows 95/98/Me)

Registry Guide for Windows
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Registry tweaks, tricks & hacks to optimize, enhance and secure Microsoft Windows.

Disable Function Keys During the Boot Sequence (Windows 95/98/Me)
Category: Home > Tips and Tricks > Configuration Files > MSDOS.SYS

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By default Windows 9x enables the function keys on boot, these allow you to control the boot process. For example pressing F5 while the "Starting Windows 95..." message is displayed will boot Windows in Safe Mode.

Change the attributes for MSDOS.SYS so it is not 'Read Only', MSDOS.SYS is found in the root directory of your C:\ drive. Open the file using Notepad or another text editor (not Microsoft Word or any word processor).

Change the value of 'BootKeys=' to 'BootKeys=1' for enabled or 'BootKeys=0' for disabled.

Changes will take place on the next reboot.

Settings:

Value: BootKeys=1 (default) or BootKeys=0 (disabled)

Related Tweaks

Change the Function Key Timeout (Windows 95/98/Me)

Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.

Last Modified: May 12, 2002

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