How to setup native Win95 keyboard driver for KOI8-R

NOTE: The Polish language was choosen in the examples below, but any Central European language can be choosen instead to associate this keyboard with the hacked Central European code page. See hack description for details.

For all Win95 Editions:

Copy this KOI8-R keyboard map to \Windows\System directory.

NOTE: The keyboard map made by Janko's Keyboard Generator, and you can even edit/modify it more using this tool. Microsoft doesn't bother to give keyboard editor for us, but now we have the solution! I even replace my standard Microsoft Russian (CP1251) keyboard too with JKbd95-generated one because of very strange Microsoft's assumption about some characters places.

See also Notes about Cp_20866.nls resource (for programmers).

For any Win95 non-Russian Edition:

  1. Apply this Registry addition (put it into command line: Regedit.exe koi8-kbd.reg) to add KOI8-R keyboard to valid keyboards list.
  2. Press Control Panel|Keyboard|Language|Add and add Polish language.
  3. Choose it and press Properties, then choose Russian (KOI8-R) in Keyboard Layout menu. Funally, you'll have following picture into Installed keyboard languages and layouts table:

    EnEnglish (United States)      United States
    PlPolishRussian (KOI8-R)
    RuRussianRussian

  4. Check in Enable indicator on taskbar box and choose one of Switch languages methods.
  5. Don't forget to reboot your Win95.

For Win95 Russian Edition:

  1. Apply this Registry addition (put it into command line: Regedit.exe koi8rkbd.reg) to add KOI8-R keyboard to valid keyboards list.
  2. Press Панель управления|Клавиатура|Язык|Добавить... and add Польский language.
  3. Choose it and press Свойства, then choose Русская (KOI8-R) in Раскладка menu. Funally, you'll have following picture into Установленные языки и раскладки клавиатуры table:

    EnАнглийский (США)             США
    PlПольскийРусская (KOI8-R)
    RuРусскийРусская

  4. Check in Вывести индикатор box and choose one of Сочетания клавиш для переключения раскладки methods.
  5. Don't forget to reboot your Win95.

KNOWN PROBLEMS: Win95 native keyboard switch method has serious problems as designed. The problem list:

  1. Win95 implements per-application keyboard switcher, not for all aplications at once.
  2. If HotKey switching does not work, you can use menu switching (from lower right corner: En - Ru - Pl) or temporary go to another window (in the same program), switch there and return back. Usually, if you bring Help|About... window and switch there, it is enough.
  3. If your keyboard gets stuck after switching to Russian mode, you need to temporarily go to parent window and return back.
  4. If you can't reenter Russian mode again in the current window, you need to temporarily go to parent window, switch to Russian mode there and return back. If it not help, open yet another window in the same program and try to switch keyboard there, then return to original window.
It happens not only with my KOI8-R keyboard, but with standard Win95 Russian keyboard too. Ask Microsoft to fix it.

Special thanx to Janko Stamenovic' <janko@eunet.yu> for his Keyboard Generator.

See also Notes about Cp_20866.nls resource (for programmers) and How to setup Win95 for KOI8-R properly.

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