# Disabling the keyboard power button

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 12, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572 "2003-12-12T12:38:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![puggyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@puggyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puggyfish)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572/1 "2003-12-12T12:38:50Z")

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I have no luck with keyboards. As such I’ve just had to get another one. Usually I just get a keyboard without a power button to sidestep this problem, but my local store has stopped doing them.

The problem is that, each time I hit the power button (and something on my desk hits it on occasion, however much I try to avoid it) my computer tries to go into standby and crashes in the process. I can’t disable it via the BIOS and the software that comes with the keyboard allows the configuration of every “special” button except for the power one.

Does anyone know how to disable it? I’m running Windows 98 SE on a system that is not quite ACPI compliant, even though Windows thinks it is.

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**Author:** ![Chagto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Chagto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chagto)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572/2 "2003-12-12T13:15:16Z")

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Not having used Win98 for some time now, I can’t remember exactly, but it should be somewhere in the “Power” window on the Control Panel. In theory, anyway.

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**Author:** ![MartinL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@MartinL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MartinL)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572/3 "2003-12-12T16:08:12Z")

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I had the same problem. In the end, I resorted to physically removing the key from the keyboard. Works fine!

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**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572/4 "2003-12-12T16:15:51Z")

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Remove the key from the keyboard. A screwdriver works quite well for the job.

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**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-the-keyboard-power-button/218572/5 "2003-12-12T23:54:19Z")

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Right click on the desktop. Select properties. Go to screen saver. Select advanced power management options.

I know, that’s where I’d put it if I was designing an OS, too.

-lv