How to Remove an Extra Keyboard from the Windows 10 Language List

A ghost keyboard layout that keeps reappearing in the Windows language list is usually a leftover in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload — it gets re-applied every time you sign in.

The fix: delete the Preload registry folder

Delete the Preload folder and restart (or sign out and back in):

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload

This folder is a legacy remnant that contains non-user-specified keyboard layouts to be added to the language list when the user signs in. The fix survives restarts, but a few things can bring the folder back — in that case, automate it:

Automate it with a .reg file

Create a text file, paste the contents below, and save it with a .reg extension (in Notepad, wrap the filename in quotes — "RemoveLang.reg" — so Notepad doesn’t append .txt). Run it whenever the folder comes back. You need to sign out or restart for the change to take effect.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload]

The leading minus sign in [-HKEY_USERS\...] is what tells the Registry Editor to delete the key rather than create it.

Reading this in 2026?

• The .DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload key still exists on Windows 10 and 11, and a stale layout there still re-injects itself at sign-in — the fix above still works.
• Before touching the registry, try the supported path first: Settings → Time & language → Language & region, remove the unwanted language, and — the part most people miss — click the language’s three-dot menu → Language options → Keyboards to remove the layout while keeping the language.
• If a layout is listed under the wrong language (the classic English UK showing Greek Keyboard case), that mismatch is exactly what the Preload cleanup fixes.
• Power users: Get-WinUserLanguageList / Set-WinUserLanguageList in PowerShell script the same cleanup, and Set-WinDefaultInputMethodOverride pins the default input method.