Windows 8.1 is forgetting Ctrl+1,2,3,4,5 shortcuts designated for keyboard layout switching after wa


Recommended Posts

I have a configuration of Ctrl+1,2,3,4,5 shortcuts for switching keyboard layouts on Windows 8.1.

 

Once I boot up my laptop they work just fine and the layouts shortcuts setup window looks like this if I open it:

original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1

 

However now when I close my laptop, putting it into sleep mode, and then open it again, the keyboard shortcuts stop working and if I open the aforementioned setup window, it also looks as if I have none configured:

original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1

 

To get my shortcuts back after sleep mode I have either to reboot the laptop, or assign the shortcuts again manually.

 

This is a problem I've experienced before on this same machine (Lenovo Yoga 13) with Windows 8 (before the 8.1 update) and I guess at that time it dissapeared after some editing of the list of layouts I use.

But now I've added some layouts to the list, and then removed some of them and so on and here is what I get again.

Maybe there is some branch of Windows Registry involved with the layouts and keyboard-shortcuts messed up and I could simply remove the registry branch and start with a clean slate?

It looks like these settings are stored here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys

 

Defaults are loaded here:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys

 

I assume that your machine locks and you need to login after it wakes from sleep?

  Quote
It looks like these settings are stored here

 

Thank you!

 

If I just remove the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys branch, will Windows recreate it clean, or will it cause some further error?

 

  Quote
I assume that your machine locks and you need to login after it wakes from sleep?
 
Yes - it does. I was just about to ask how it matters, but actually now I see that the same problem appears once I do Win+L and log-in back. Is it some known bug then?
  On 22/06/2015 at 20:41, eugrus said:

 

Thank you!

 

If I just remove the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys branch, will Windows recreate it clean, or will it cause some further error?

 

 

 
Yes - it does. I was just about to ask how it matters, but actually now I see that the same problem appears once I do Win+L and log-in back. Is it some known bug then?

 

 

I would assume that the keys will be re-created from values in the .DEFAULTS key if you wipe what's in HKCU. However, I would still export any existing values so that you have backups to restore. I'm skeptical that the values of these keys are being rewritten on logout/login, but it's worth a look.

 

I'd be curious to see whether rewriting the .DEFAULTS with your custom settings is sufficient to resolve the issue, or whether this arises with a different (fresh/local) user profile.

What really seemed to help was rewriting the .DEFAULTS with my HKEY_CURRENT_USER settings!

 

Thank you a lot! I would have never figured this out myself and using Ctrl+1,2,3 is a huge part of my typing process!  :D

 

Ofcourse now one should remember to do it every time after changing the layout shortcuts settings! I guess we should make some kind of bug report for Microsoft out of it! :)

 

I am attaching my old (messed up) defaults and the new ones (these are .reg-files with extensions changed to .txt) for the record  :shiftyninja:

default hotkeys.txt

new default hotkeys.txt

  Quote
What really seemed to help was rewriting the .DEFAULTS with my HKEY_CURRENT_USER settings!

 

Glad you got this resolved.

 

Anyone on W10 Preview able to reproduce the issue? If so, may be worth a bug report if it's not already in feedback.

 

Edit: I'm not seeing this on Windows 8.1; my user's Standard/non-admin, linked to my MS account. So far only have two shortcuts assigned to languages, and tried locking and logging back in.

 

got it to work, have loaded Chinese, French? ??Occitan, assigned them to 1 -4 similar to that described in the first post. My hotkeys get wiped on lock and logging back in.

Looks like it is in fact an old legacy bug, apparently going at least from the times of Windows XP: https://superuser.com/questions/327479/ctrl-space-always-toggles-chinese-ime-windows-7
I would love to have it included into the Microsoft's bug tracker, but I don't seem to find my way through connect.microsoft.com  :/
  • 2 months later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  On 14/01/2016 at 12:08, Stanislav Syarkevich said:

There is no access to attached .txt files

Expand  

Here are my user settings: http://pastebin.com/MdM86MQD

My current defaults: http://pastebin.com/KUajUV6E

And this is what the problem-plagued registry entry looked like: http://pastebin.com/434JXMEG

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Because it's just a one liner fix. One person ( StartAllBack dev ) was able to fix it... in a cave!
    • I have a first draft of the setup script available here if anybody is curious.  It'll work well enough for me, but obviously adapt it to your own needs as necessary. Link: https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/4876568
    • You make it sound like Microsoft’s success was inevitable—like they just coasted to the top because the system is broken. But that ignores how deep in the gutter Microsoft was. A bit more than a decade ago, Microsoft was a bloated, boring giant—universally hated by developer communities and seen as yesterday’s villain. It was well on its way to becoming the next IBM: slow, corporate, irrelevant. The company had a horrible public image, a toxic internal culture, and leadership plagued by stagnation. It was losing the browser war, failing at mobile, and completely missing the open-source wave—pouring good money after bad into battles it had already lost, playing an impossible catch-up game. Even tech enthusiasts openly wished for its demise. Microsoft’s comeback was nothing short of a miracle. Most companies that size, once caught in that kind of death spiral, never climb back out. But Microsoft reinvented itself—against all odds.
    • Samsung's profit nosedives again as chip division bleeds cash by Paul Hill Samsung has shared its second quarter financials for 2025. Unfortunately for the company, its operating profit plummeted to KRW 4.7 trillion, a sharp decline from KRW 10.4 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 6.7 trillion in 1Q25. The Korean smartphone giant also recorded a significant drop of net profit to KRW 5.1 trillion in the second quarter, down from KRW 9.8 trillion in 2024 and KRW 8.2 trillion in the first quarter. Finally, overall revenue for the second quarter was KRW 74.5 trillion, a decrease from KRW 79.1 trillion in the first quarter. These figures are based on the consolidated financial statements that have been shared before the external review is completed, so some parts could change once it’s done. The worsening of performance doesn’t seem to be a Samsung issue, but rather a wider industry issue as Intel and LG Electronics have also seen poorer results in the second quarter. The Device Solutions (DS) division, which includes Memory and System LSI/Foundry, saw a big fall in operating profits to KRW 0.4 trillion in 2Q25 from KRW 6.5 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 1.1 trillion in 1Q25. Despite an 11% increase in sales quarter-over-quarter for the Device Solutions division, profits were severely affected by one-off costs such as inventory value adjustments. The company said that its Foundry earnings were weak due to inventory value adjustments arising from US export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China and prolonged low utilization at mature nodes. Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX/NW) division maintained double-digit profitability and grew both its revenue and operating profit year-over-year. The Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) saw revenue increase from new smartphone models and growth in IT/Auto segments, and Harman also improved profitability with increased audio sales and cost optimizations. On the flipside, smartphone shipments fell compared to the first quarter when new models were released. However, good sales of the S25 series, A series, and tablets contributed to year-over-year growth. The Visual Display (VD) division saw earnings decline due to intensified competition despite improved premium sales mix. Going forward, Samsung wants to focus on improving Exynos competitiveness for its 2026 flagship lineup and expand sales of advanced sensors. It also said that its Foundry business will ramp up mass production of a new mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) with the GAA 2nm processor and improve factory utilization. The Mobile eXperience division is also looking to achieve solid profitability by reinforcing AI In tablets and wearables. It’s also planning to launch new form-factor products like XR and TriFold. With US trade tariffs not expected to go anywhere in the near future, Samsung has acknowledged that its Harman and Visual Display/Digital Appliances divisions will be under added pressure but plans to mitigate the impact through its global manufacturing footprint. Source: Samsung | Image via Depositphotos.com
    • I switched my bash script over to using Chromium instead of Edge and it's a much better experience.  Supports my bluetooth XBox controller for gameplay and menu navigation and launched the first time with no nonsense, no popups, nothing.  It just worked.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      whiloh earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      memnoch earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      UAVXP earned a badge
      First Post
    • Dedicated
      Xinotema earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      MrNukes went up a rank
      Rookie
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      658
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      205
    3. 3
      Xenon
      133
    4. 4
      neufuse
      125
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      123
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!