Left-click on the Start button and then on Control Panel. Click on the Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options if you use the Category view. Then left-click on the Regional and Language Options icon. Click on the Languages tab and then on the Details button. Left-click on the top dropdown menu and then on English (United Kingdom) – United Kingdom.

This will set the keyboard to an English model with the characters in the right places. If this option is not in the list, click on the Add button. Select English (United Kingdom) in the Input language dropdown menu, click in the box labelled Keyboard layout/IME so that a tick appears and then select United Kingdom in the dropdown menu. Click on OK. Select United Kingdom in the top menu as it will now be available.

If you are running Windows Vista, click on the Start button and then on Control Panel. Click on the Change keyboards or other input methods in the Clock, Language and Region section. Click on the Change keyboards button in the window that appears. Look in the bottom section labelled ‘Installed services’. If there are two entries, one US and one UK, click in the dropdown menu at the top of the window and select English (United Kingdom) – UK.

Otherwise, if this is not included in the bottom window, click on the Add button. Click on the small plus next to English (United Kingdom) and then the one next to Keyboard. Click in the box labelled United Kingdom, and then on OK. It will appear in the Installed services section and can be selected in the Default input language menu.