The instructions that you quoted are correct…lemme see if I can reword them in a way that’ll make sense to you:
You know how, when you turn on your computer, it lists how much memory you have and displays the logo and all that jazz? At that time a line of text should flash up on the screen (sometimes it doesn’t last very long, so watch closely) saying something like “Press <F1> to enter Setup.” The <F1> may be another key, like ESC or DEL; seems like every computer company picks a different key.
When you see that message, pounce on that key like a cobra on a juicy mouse. Tap it a few times, to make sure it registers; extra presses won’t hurt anything. If your computer just boots normally, you probably didn’t hit the key quickly enough; just let it boot up, then shut it down and start over.
If you did jump on the key quickly enough, you should see a Setup screen, which you probably haven’t seen before. It’ll usually be a plain text menu that you navigate through using the arrow keys. Before you press any keys, look at the screen: there should be one area that’s sort of like a legend on a map, telling you which keys are used for moving the highlight, changing settings, going to the next screen, and so on. Anyway, look for an item in Setup that deals with having Num Lock on by default on startup. The Num Lock setting may not be on the original screen, so if there’s a way to move to additional Setup screens listed in the legend, go for it.
After you’ve found the Num Lock setting and changed it, look again to the legend. It’ll tell you what key to press to save and exit. Push that key. It’ll usually ask you to press Y or N to confirm that that’s what you want to do. Push Y, and your computer will boot anew, this time with the Num Lock on by default.
Most important: if you hit the wrong key and change a setting you didn’t want to change, don’t panic. There will be a key listed in the legend for “Quit/Don’t Save”. Hit that key, confirm (Y/N), and start over.
