Help! All text in Windows XP is written in Symbols!

[Guest]

So I turned on my computer last week and everything is written in symbols or
wingdings (not sure of the font). After updating virus updates, doing a
thorough virus/adware check, I did a system restore and no dice. I tried
starting up in safe mode, same problem. I also tried re-upgrading XP, though
it won't let me since the version on my computer is newer than the version in
the box. I'm trying to avoid doing a complete reinstall. It is difficult to
troubleshoot since everything on the computer is written in symbols,
difficult to read! Any ideas of what I can do? The only programs not in
symbols are non-windows like Firefox. Please help!

 

[Patti MacLeod]

Hi srmcdo,

See if running System File Checker solves the problem. Place your install CD
in the drive, then open the Run dialogue box in the Start menu (hopefully
you have Display Run enabled in your start menu options....the icon has
short horizontal lines to the left of a box) and key in:
sfc /scannow
click on OK or hit ENTER

This will replace damaged system files.



Regards,

 

[Guest]

Thanks Patti, I tried running the System File Checker and it didn't work.
Any other ideas?

 

[sussmanbern]

I suggest checking the fonts selected for your screen. Apparently
somehow the conventional English alphabets are not being used and maybe
the symbol fonts were designated instead.

 

[Patti MacLeod]

You're welcome Too bad that didn't work :-(

I guess you realize that the big challenge in troubleshooting this is that,
since all the Windows stuff is written in symbols, if I tell you to check
something (eg., if the default fonts are in the C:\Windows\Fonts folder),
you may not be able to decipher what you're looking for.

If you open the Run dialogue box in the Start menu, then key in:
C:\Windows\Fonts
click on OK or hit ENTER
When the Fonts folder opens, do you see names or just symbols? The default
Windows fonts are:
Courier New
Arial
Times New Roman
Symbol
Wingdings
MS Serif
MS Sans Serif

You may end up having to do an in-place upgrade/repair install. I take it
the version you have on your install CD in the box does not have SP1 or SP2,
and you have installed one of those service packs. If so, and you have
access to another computer with a CD burner, you can create a bootable
slipstreamed install CD. There are numerous tutorials on the internet for
creating a slipstreamed install CD, for example:
http://theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm

Using Autostreamer is also a popular method:
http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml



Regards,

 

[Guest]

OK, well after checking the Fonts folder it appears there are NO fonts at all
in the folder. It's empty. I guess this would be the problem. How do I get
those back? Thanks again!

 

[Patti MacLeod]

Yes, that's probably the root of the problem. See if expanding the fonts
from the install CD to the Windows\Fonts folder helps solve the problem.

With the install CD in the drive, go to Start>Run and key in:
CMD.EXE
Click on OK or hit ENTER
This will open a command prompt window. At the prompt, key in the letter for
your CD drive, like so (I will use the letter X, replace where I put X with
the actual letter for your CD drive):
X:
Click on OK or hit ENTER
You should now be at an X: prompt
Key in:
CD i386
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
EXPAND *.TT_ C:\WINDOWS\FONTS
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
EXPAND *.FO_ C:\WINDOWS\FONTS
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
C:
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
CD WINDOWS\FONTS
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
REN *.TT_ *.TTF
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
REN *.FO_ *.FON
Click on OK or hit ENTER
Key in:
EXIT
Click on OK or hit ENTER

The EXIT command closes the command prompt window. Take the install CD out
of the drive and restart your computer.



Regards,

 

[Guest]

Tried this and it still doesn't work.

Still nothing shows up in the Fonts folder on the C:drive. I tried "Add New
Font" from the Control Panel and a list of all the fonts showed up (directed
from C:\Windows\Fonts, even though I can't SEE anything in that folder) and
so I hit "select all" and "add". That seemed to help for a minute, much of
the windows text was written in the normal fonts (some symbols still in
places), so I restarted but now the fonts are no longer in the folder or the
control panel folder and we're back to square one.

Thanks for all your help on this!

 

[Patti MacLeod]

You're welcome for the help, but I must admit, I am running out of ideas.

You could try doing a Search for a file called FNTCACHE.DAT if you can
figure out how to run Search>For files and folders from your Start menu (if
using Classic start menu, go to the magnifying glass icon and then For files
and folders is the first option listed). Delete the file and then restart.
The file will be rebuilt.

Another option would be to download and install TweakUI for XP and run its
Repair Fonts option, which is apparently under the Repair tab. As I don't
use TweakUI, I can't explain how to run the Repair Fonts option in greater
detail. You can download it from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx



Regards,

 

[sussmanbern]

My experience is that "select all" is only temporary, and is undone
when the machine is shut down. Instead, try that Select All process -
just to be able to read your screen - and then explicitly SAVE each
font to the WINDOWS/FONT file. It is also possible that you have or
can borrow a CD of fonts or find a nice one on the internet for free -
and download and SAVE one of those. It doesn't have to be one of the
default Windows fonts, just something to keep your screen readable.
Then you can probably download from the internet and SAVE, every font
listed as a WINDOWS built-in font, one-by-one.