Disable Ctrl+Alt+S Shortcut for HP Support Information, PC Doctor

Xah Lee, 2010-05-18

Am pissed yesterday to have to spend a hour to disable a global shortcut key in Windows, caused by a pre-installed software from HP.

If you bought your PC from HP/Compaq, then when you press 【Ctrl+Alt+s】, it'll pop up the HP Support Information window. (also, 【Ctrl+Alt+h】 pops up the PC Doctor software.)

hp support info window — HP Support Information window.

This is a pain in the ass, because 【Ctrl+Alt+s】 is used in Second Life virtual world software, Blender 3D Modeling Software, Emacs, all i use daily. All these 3 are major software, with extensive keyboard shortcuts.

So, how do you disable it?

Disable the Hotkey for HP Support Information

Open your Start menu, and look for the folder named “PC Help & Tools”, right click the “HP support information”, then chose Properties.

hp support info pc help n tools — The HP support info software in Start menu.

Click on the Shortcut tab, then the Shortcut key field, then just delete it there.

hp support information properties — the Properties window.

You can also find the file directly at 〔C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\PC Help & Tools〕.

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