If you have ever given your PC keyboard a good look, you have probably noticed the Insert key — it is typically located in the top key section right above the arrow key cluster. If you have never used it, you might be wondering, “Why do I need the Insert key?” If you are not sure what exactly the Insert key is for, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we will tell you exactly what it is for and give you the steps for how to disable it. Let’s get started.
What Is the Insert Key Used for?
The Insert key is mainly used for switching between the two modes of entering text: overtype mode and insert mode.
In overtype mode, the characters you are typing overwrite the existing charters. So, basically, you will be typing over the text that you have already entered. In the insert mode, on the contrary, you type the characters in their current positions — with all the characters that already exist on your page being shifted to the right.
It is useful to note that the insert/overtype mode switching is not meant for overall operations on your PC or even a particular application. Switching the modes by pressing the <Insert> key is valid only for the window you are working with at the moment. In many modern applications, the insert mode is set by default, but the user can switch to the overtype mode by pressing the Insert key.
You can use the Insert key function in a variety of situations. That said, if you don’t need it, having the Insert key enabled on your PC can get irritating. For instance, if you press the Insert key by mistake, the overtype mode will be activated automatically and the text you are currently typing will be overwritten. If you are working on something very important it may start causing serious problems. So, you might reasonably ask: “How to turn off Insert key in Windows 10?”
How to Disable the Insert Key on Windows 10?
If you want to avoid accidentally deleting your work, you can simply disable the Insert key. Here’s how to do it on a Windows 10 PC.
You can disable the Insert key using the Registry Editor. Here’s how:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows key.
- Type “registry editor” (no quotes).
- Press Enter and the Registry Editor window will pop up.
- On the left side of the Registry Editor window, find the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” folder and double-click it.
- Find the SYSTEM folder and double-click it.
- Open the CurrentControlSet folder.
- Find the Control folder and double-click it.
- Open the Keyboard Layout folder.
- Once you are inside the folder, right-click the right section of the window and select ‘New” -> “Binary Value” and type any name you like, say “Insert_Disable”.
- Double-click the ‘Insert_Disable file.
- In the Value data window, paste the following text:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 52 E0 00 00 00 00
- Press the OK button.
- You can now exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer
- After you have restarted your computer, the Insert key will be disabled.
You can also disable the Insert key by using the special Registry Tool. Here’s how:
- Go to your default browser.
- Paste the following link into the address bar:
https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DisableInsertKey.zip
- Press Enter on your keyboard.
- Select the DisableInsertKey.zip file and unzip it.
- Then, double click the DisableInsertKey.reg file.
- If prompted, click Yes.
- Restart your PC
There you have it, the Insert key should now be disabled on your PC.
You can also disable the Insert key using some third-party software. All you need to do is run a quick Google search for the needed tool and your search should turn up quite a few free and workable tools to help you solve the problem.
We hope that with this article we have given you all the needed information and you now know exactly how to turn off Insert key in Windows 10.
Just one more thing before you go. If you often experience issues, errors and slow-downs on your PC, these may be caused by an outdated driver. In fact, an outdated driver can be the cause of many problems on your computer.
It is, thus, very important to keep your system drivers up to date. There are two ways in which you can go about updating your graphics driver: you can do it manually or automatically.
Updating your drivers manually is typically recommended for more experienced users as it will involve a series of steps, each of which needs to be done correctly. This can be quite a time-consuming process and if you do make a mistake when updating your drivers, this can result in bigger issues for your PC.
If you’ve never updated your drivers before and don’t feel like taking any risks, you can use specialized software to do work for you. Auslogics Driver Updater, for instance, can run an automatic check-up of your system drivers locating existing and detecting potential issues — and will then have your drivers automatically updated to the latest versions. All in just one click.
We hope the information above has been helpful and you now have more tools at your disposal for solving potential problems on your Windows PC. Do you use the Insert key often or prefer to have it disabled? Share in the comments below.
