Turn on NumLock at system startup

root access needed ....

Add this to /etc/rc.d/rc.local :

for tty in /dev/tty[1-6]; do
/usr/bin/setleds -D +num < $tty
done

and make sure /etc/rc.d/rc.local is executable.
That's it!

Additionally, if you want NumLock on when kde starts up, go to
Kmenu -> Control Center -> Peripherals -> Keyboard
and check "turn on" for "NumLock on KDE Startup" (no root access required).