font folder instability

[Guest]

I installed a few cool fonts I found on the internet and then I tried to open
the font folder and it crashed Windows. Now EVERY time I open the font
folder, it crashes. I have tried opening it different ways, changing folder
view options, deleting all the fonts I installed, replacing all the fonts in
the folder with new copies, everything I can think of. I scanned my computer
many times with various anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and they all
found nothing. There is simply no way to get into this folder now without it
crashing. Even my boyfriend, the computer expert, is clueless!
It's not affecting any other part of the computer, the fonts are still
showing up fine in Word and other programs, but I can never modify any of the
fonts this is really annoying me. I want to fix this problem.

 

[Guest]

Hi Callista,

I wish that I had the answers for you but I am having the same problem. I
was hoping that you have found a solution by now and could pass it on. At
the very least you can now take comfort in knowing that you are not the only
one dealing with this issue. Mine happened when I tried to move a bunch of
fonts from an old font cd into my font folder. Since I do a lot of graphic
design, not being able to get into this folder is more than an inconvienence
for me, it's critical. I have stumbled on ways to get files in and out using
copy and paste during the crash, but it is definitely not a solution. Any
help out there for us?? Thanks in advance, Laura.
msbb(removethis)@yourfriendlywebmaster.com

 

[Malke]

Hi Callista,

I wish that I had the answers for you but I am having the same
problem. I
was hoping that you have found a solution by now and could pass it on.
At the very least you can now take comfort in knowing that you are
not the only
one dealing with this issue. Mine happened when I tried to move a
bunch of
fonts from an old font cd into my font folder. Since I do a lot of
graphic design, not being able to get into this folder is more than an
inconvienence
for me, it's critical. I have stumbled on ways to get files in and
out using
copy and paste during the crash, but it is definitely not a solution.
Any
help out there for us?? Thanks in advance, Laura.
msbb(removethis)@yourfriendlywebmaster.com

Fonts are actually tiny programs. Try doing a System Restore to a date
before you installed the flaky fonts.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke,

Thank you for the wise advice. I wish I posted this sooner because that
would have been the solution. Unfortunately, it was months ago and that is
no longer an option with all that I have done since then. Any other
solutions? Thanks again, Laura.

 

[David Candy]

Get filemon from www.sysinternals.com and run it and see what file it crashes on when you open fonts. You may want to put a filter of fonts into edit menu - filter to reduce the list of non font files that will show.

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke,

Thank you for the wise advice. I wish I posted this sooner because
that
would have been the solution. Unfortunately, it was months ago and
that is
no longer an option with all that I have done since then. Any other
solutions? Thanks again, Laura.

:

A. Try going into the Fonts Folder in Safe Mode and deleting the flaky
fonts. To get to Safe Mode, repeatedly tap the F8 key as the computer
is starting up.

B. If that doesn't work, first make sure that you've enabled the ability
to see all hidden/protected files and extensions from the Folder
Options applet in Control Panel. Make sure you can see the addressbar
in your Explorer windows. Write down the path to the Fonts folder so
its easy for you and also write down the names of the font files you
want to delete. Then start the computer in Safe Mode Command Prompt
only and navigate to the Fonts folder from the command line. If you are
unfamiliar with doing this, the process will be something like:

c:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name> cd c:\windows\fonts [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont.ttf [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont2.ttf [enter]

If neither of these things works, let me know. I have some other ideas
and also MVP Kelly Theriot often posts late at night. She's very good
with fixing fonts and she may have more suggestions.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke and David,

I have downloaded the program that David mentioned and it is running right
now but so far everything says success where the fonts are concerned although
it is nowhere near done with all of the fonts and I think it locked up when I
narrowed the search down to just fonts.

As far as going into safe mode, I haven't been able to try it yet because
I've been running the program that I just mentioned but unless that tells me
which fonts are causing the problem, I don't know which fonts to delete once
I'm in safe mode. My eyes are getting very heavy so I am going to call it a
night, but in the mean time if you have any other suggestions as to how I
would know which font files to delete or anything else that might clear this
issue up, please feel free to post as many suggestions as you can think of
and I will try them all in the morning.

Thank you all again for being so wonderfully helpful. You are appreciated.
Laura.

Hi Malke,

Thank you for the wise advice. I wish I posted this sooner because
that
would have been the solution. Unfortunately, it was months ago and
that is
no longer an option with all that I have done since then. Any other
solutions? Thanks again, Laura.

:

A. Try going into the Fonts Folder in Safe Mode and deleting the flaky
fonts. To get to Safe Mode, repeatedly tap the F8 key as the computer
is starting up.

B. If that doesn't work, first make sure that you've enabled the ability
to see all hidden/protected files and extensions from the Folder
Options applet in Control Panel. Make sure you can see the addressbar
in your Explorer windows. Write down the path to the Fonts folder so
its easy for you and also write down the names of the font files you
want to delete. Then start the computer in Safe Mode Command Prompt
only and navigate to the Fonts folder from the command line. If you are
unfamiliar with doing this, the process will be something like:

c:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name> cd c:\windows\fonts [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont.ttf [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont2.ttf [enter]

If neither of these things works, let me know. I have some other ideas
and also MVP Kelly Theriot often posts late at night. She's very good
with fixing fonts and she may have more suggestions.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[David Candy]

The last one referenced when it crashes. This is Explorer reading the fonts sucessfully (just incl one font). Notice it starts with a IRP_MJ_CREATE (in Windows Create also opens files) and finishes with a IRP_MJ_CLEANUP. When you crash opening Fonts and with filemon running see what the last font loaded was and if it was closed (IRP_MJ_CLEANUP). Type font in Start Run to open it quickly.

1 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_CREATE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Attributes: Any Options: Open
2 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_QUERY_STANDARD_INFO C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Size: 148636
3 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_CLEANUP C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS
4 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_CLOSE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS
5 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_CREATE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Attributes: Any Options: Open
6 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 0 Length: 9
7 3:07:43 PM System:4 IRP_MJ_CLOSE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS
8 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 0 Length: 12
9 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 0 Length: 12
10 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 0 Length: 12
11 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 0 Length: 12
12 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 12 Length: 336
13 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 12 Length: 336
14 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 1836 Length: 20
15 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 1836 Length: 20
16 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 348 Length: 56
17 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 348 Length: 56
18 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 576 Length: 1257
19 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 576 Length: 1257
20 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 504 Length: 20
21 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 504 Length: 20
22 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 476 Length: 2
23 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 476 Length: 2
24 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_CHECK_IF_POSSIBLE C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Read: Offset: 534 Length: 2
25 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 FASTIO_READ C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS Offset: 534 Length: 2
26 3:07:43 PM explorer.exe:208 IRP_MJ_CLEANUP C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\Tunga.ttf SUCCESS


--
----------------------------------------------------------

Hi Malke and David,

I have downloaded the program that David mentioned and it is running right
now but so far everything says success where the fonts are concerned although
it is nowhere near done with all of the fonts and I think it locked up when I
narrowed the search down to just fonts.

As far as going into safe mode, I haven't been able to try it yet because
I've been running the program that I just mentioned but unless that tells me
which fonts are causing the problem, I don't know which fonts to delete once
I'm in safe mode. My eyes are getting very heavy so I am going to call it a
night, but in the mean time if you have any other suggestions as to how I
would know which font files to delete or anything else that might clear this
issue up, please feel free to post as many suggestions as you can think of
and I will try them all in the morning.

Thank you all again for being so wonderfully helpful. You are appreciated.
Laura.

Hi Malke,

Thank you for the wise advice. I wish I posted this sooner because
that
would have been the solution. Unfortunately, it was months ago and
that is
no longer an option with all that I have done since then. Any other
solutions? Thanks again, Laura.

:

Fonts are actually tiny programs. Try doing a System Restore to a
date before you installed the flaky fonts.

A. Try going into the Fonts Folder in Safe Mode and deleting the flaky
fonts. To get to Safe Mode, repeatedly tap the F8 key as the computer
is starting up.

B. If that doesn't work, first make sure that you've enabled the ability
to see all hidden/protected files and extensions from the Folder
Options applet in Control Panel. Make sure you can see the addressbar
in your Explorer windows. Write down the path to the Fonts folder so
its easy for you and also write down the names of the font files you
want to delete. Then start the computer in Safe Mode Command Prompt
only and navigate to the Fonts folder from the command line. If you are
unfamiliar with doing this, the process will be something like:

c:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name> cd c:\windows\fonts [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont.ttf [enter]
c:\windows\fonts> del flakyfont2.ttf [enter]

If neither of these things works, let me know. I have some other ideas
and also MVP Kelly Theriot often posts late at night. She's very good
with fixing fonts and she may have more suggestions.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke and David,

I have downloaded the program that David mentioned and it is running
right now but so far everything says success where the fonts are
concerned although it is nowhere near done with all of the fonts and I
think it locked up when I narrowed the search down to just fonts.

As far as going into safe mode, I haven't been able to try it yet
because I've been running the program that I just mentioned but unless
that tells me which fonts are causing the problem, I don't know which
fonts to delete once
I'm in safe mode. My eyes are getting very heavy so I am going to
call it a night, but in the mean time if you have any other
suggestions as to how I would know which font files to delete or
anything else that might clear this issue up, please feel free to post
as many suggestions as you can think of and I will try them all in the
morning.

David has given you more details about running filemon, so you can try
that. To see what fonts are in the folder so as to identify the ones
you want to delete:

Start>Run cmd [enter]

and at your prompt type:

cd c:\windows\fonts [enter] - I'm assuming your XP is on C:; if not,
substitute the proper drive letter.

Now do:

c:\windows\fonts> dir /p [enter]

which will give you a list by page of the contents of that directory
instead of having them all rush past you too fast to see. You'll see
the message at the bottom of the command prompt box to press a key to
go to the next page.

You might even try doing your delete from that command prompt first. The
reason I suggested booting into Safe Mode Command Prompt before is
because that doesn't load XP's graphical user interface (explorer.exe)
and I thought the corrupted font was probably crashing Explorer.

Here are links with lists of the standard fonts that come with XP:

Fonts Supplied with Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/winxp.htm

How to Determine the Default Windows Fonts
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q254768

TrueType Fonts Shipped with Microsoft Applications
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q123084

Hope you had a good night's sleep and post back if you need more help.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke and David,

I sure hope you guys are still around. It took me a little while to get
back to my computer this week, but I tried what you suggested and it does not
appear to be a specific font that is crashing. When I ran the filemon
program I could not find a specific font that crashed although the
C:\windows\fonts\shell32.dll was not found. That is probably not a good
thing. Also, I tried opening the font folder in safe mode and it crashed
there as well. The only way that I can install fonts is to drag them into
the font folder when it's closed. To remove or copy them I can access the
open font folder even after it crashes and tells me that it will now close (I
just don't hit the close button), but I cannot open a font within the folder.

Should I drag and drop a shell32.dll file into the font folder? And if so,
where would I find that file? Are all the shell32.dll's the same or do I
need a certain one for the font folder?

Thank you so much for being such a great help. You are appreciated!

Laura.

Hi Malke and David,

I have downloaded the program that David mentioned and it is running
right now but so far everything says success where the fonts are
concerned although it is nowhere near done with all of the fonts and I
think it locked up when I narrowed the search down to just fonts.

As far as going into safe mode, I haven't been able to try it yet
because I've been running the program that I just mentioned but unless
that tells me which fonts are causing the problem, I don't know which
fonts to delete once
I'm in safe mode. My eyes are getting very heavy so I am going to
call it a night, but in the mean time if you have any other
suggestions as to how I would know which font files to delete or
anything else that might clear this issue up, please feel free to post
as many suggestions as you can think of and I will try them all in the
morning.

David has given you more details about running filemon, so you can try
that. To see what fonts are in the folder so as to identify the ones
you want to delete:

Start>Run cmd [enter]

and at your prompt type:

cd c:\windows\fonts [enter] - I'm assuming your XP is on C:; if not,
substitute the proper drive letter.

Now do:

c:\windows\fonts> dir /p [enter]

which will give you a list by page of the contents of that directory
instead of having them all rush past you too fast to see. You'll see
the message at the bottom of the command prompt box to press a key to
go to the next page.

You might even try doing your delete from that command prompt first. The
reason I suggested booting into Safe Mode Command Prompt before is
because that doesn't load XP's graphical user interface (explorer.exe)
and I thought the corrupted font was probably crashing Explorer.

Here are links with lists of the standard fonts that come with XP:

Fonts Supplied with Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/winxp.htm

How to Determine the Default Windows Fonts
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q254768

TrueType Fonts Shipped with Microsoft Applications
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q123084

Hope you had a good night's sleep and post back if you need more help.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke and David,

I sure hope you guys are still around. It took me a little while to
get back to my computer this week, but I tried what you suggested and
it does not
appear to be a specific font that is crashing. When I ran the filemon
program I could not find a specific font that crashed although the
C:\windows\fonts\shell32.dll was not found. That is probably not a
good
thing. Also, I tried opening the font folder in safe mode and it
crashed
there as well. The only way that I can install fonts is to drag them
into
the font folder when it's closed. To remove or copy them I can access
the open font folder even after it crashes and tells me that it will
now close (I just don't hit the close button), but I cannot open a
font within the folder.

(snip)

Well, it has been a long time and I frankly don't remember the very
first part of this thread so I don't remember everything you have
tried. Apparently you have damage to your fonts folder. Without
actually seeing the machine, I'm hesitant to suggest anything more
except the following:

1. Run the System File Checker. Do:

Start>Run sfc /scannow [enter]

You may need your XP cd on hand.

2. Do a Repair Install:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Back up important data first.

3. Take the machine to a profesisonal computer repair shop, not your
local equivalent of BigStoreUSA.

Good luck,

Malke