Whenever i press the shift key and then (') in order to get the @ sign i get (" appearing instead. This causes me to have to press the shift key and then the number 2 key in order to get the @ sign. How do i fix this so that when i press shift and (') key i get @ as was originally meant for the purpose of the keys?

Go to Control Panel -> Region and Language -> Keyboards and Language -> Click the Change Keyboard button -> Set it to US.

it didnt work because it was already on US.

@jacobscros

Just like Mobinga said:
For XP,
[list]
[li]Go to Control Panel[/li]
[li]Select Regional And Language Options[/li]
[li]Select the "Languages" tab[/li]
[li]Under the[b] "Text services and input Languages"[/b], select "Details"[/li]
[li]Under the "Installed Services", click "Add" and select "English (United Kingdom)" [/li]
[li]Still on that window, no select the drop down under "Default Input Language" and pick the United Kingdom option.[/li]
[li]Click on "apply", and Ok and then try out your keyboard. [/li]
[/list]

For Win7
[list]
[li]Go to Control Panel Home[/li]
[li]Select "Region And Language"[/li]
[li]Select "Keyboards and languages" tab in the window that opens up[/li]
[li]Click on "Change Keyboards"[/li]
[li]Under the "Installed Services", click "Add" and select "English (United Kingdom)" [/li]
[li]Still on that window, no select the drop down under "Default Input Language" and pick the United Kingdom option.[/li]
[li]Click on "apply", and Ok and then try out your keyboard. [/li]
[/list]

Cheers

PS: You may need to restart your PC for the change to take effect.