Why does Windows Calculator always start minimised?
I had the same problem with Windows 7 x64. I fixed it by creating a command file calc.cmd with the following lines:
start C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe
exit
Then I assigned the key to run the command file, and calc now starts in the foreground.
One was this could happen is if that key is mapped to a shortcut with Run set to Minimized. What kind of MS keyboard?