Change input of keyboard

Hiya, I have a Japanese laptop and they installed windows for me in the store. They also changed the keyboard to english i think. But now I have to write something in hiragana on my computer but I have forgotten how to change it back to the japanese style keyboard! Does anybody know how to? Thanks

Which version and language OS are you working on?

Depending on how you're set up, if you're in a Japanese version of Vista or Windows 7 you can press Left Alt + Shift to switch languages and then Shift + Caps Lock to switch between kana. I'm not sure what the keyboard shortcuts are in Japanese XP though.

If you are in an English version of windows you have to first install East Asian language fonts and enable the Japanese IME which I think is in the Region and Languages settings in control panel. Then switching is the same as above unless you are using XP in which case I think you have to choose input method by clicking the IME icon in the taskbar.

Yes i do have a japanese version of windows 7. The first shortcut works to switch between languages. However it will only switch to katakana. when i try the the shortcut shift + caps lock it wont switch to hiragana although i do have hiragana signs on my keyboard! :(

When you're in Japanese input, try pressing Alt + Caps Lock