How Do I Troubleshoot Unavailable IME Issues?

Symptom

• On my Windows ECS, you cannot switch input methods using Ctrl+Shift. The input method editor (IME) toolbar is not shown.
• The IME does not work.

Possible Causes

• The ctfmon.exe process is not started.
• The input indication icon is turned off.

Solutions to Unavailable IME

Solution 1: Check whether ctfmon.exe is started.

1. Open C:\Windows\System32.
2. Double-click ctfmon.exe and check whether the IME toolbar is shown in the lower right corner and whether you can switch the input method.

3. Enable the IME to automatically start upon ECS startup.
   1. In the Run dialog box, enter regedit and click OK to open the registry editor.
   2. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run directory, create a file named ctfmon.exe in string type.
      Figure 1 Run directory
      
   3. Right-click the file you create and click Modify. Change the value data to C:\Windows\System32\ctfmon.exe in which ctfmon.exe is stored.
      Figure 2 Editing the value data
      
   4. In the Run dialog box, enter msconfig and click OK to open the System Configuration.
   5. Click the Startup tab, find and select ctfmon.exe, and click Apply and then OK. Save the configurations and log out. Restart the ECS.
      Figure 3 Selecting ctfmon.exe
      

Enable the input indication icon.

1. Log in to the ECS and click Customize in the lower right corner.
   Figure 4 Clicking Customize
   
2. In the Notification Area Icons window, click Turn system icons on or off.
   Figure 5 Turning system icons on or off
   
3. Set Input Indicator to On and click OK.
   Figure 6 Turning input indicator on
   

Adding Another Input Language

The following uses an ECS running Windows Server 2008 as an example to describe how to add the Japanese to IME.

1. Log in to the ECS and open the control panel.
2. Click Region and Language.
   Figure 7 Region and Language
   
3. On the Keyboards and Languages tab, click Change keyboards.
   Figure 8 Keyboards and Languages
   
4. Right-click the language bar and click Settings to open the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box. On the General tab, click Add.
   Figure 9 Text Services and Input Languages
   
5. In the Add Input Language dialog box, find and double-click Japanese (Japan) and then Keyboard.
   Figure 10 Adding input language
   
6. Select Japanese and Microsoft IME. Click OK and then Apply to save the configurations.
   Figure 11 Selecting Japanese