Q: How do I boot with NumLock enabled?

When my Linux system boots, it always defaults to NumLock disabled, which is annoying because I need to use the numeric keypad frequently.

A: This default setting is probably for the benefit of laptop users whose keyboards have combined cursor and numeric keypads, on the theory that they're more likely to need a cursor keypad for routine use.

To override it, insert the following line into /etc/rc.d/rc.local:
"do setleds -D +num < $tty > /dev/null done"

This will cause NumLock to be re-enabled at the end of your next system boot.