Transferred from XP to Vista computers, now both have font issues

[donster]

Transferring files & programs from computer with XP installed to new one with
Vista installed. I used the Easy Transfer Wizard that came with Vista and
also downloaded and used the Easy Transfer Wizard Companion. There were a few
minor trouble spots, which I kind of expected, but actually it didn't go that
badly. Well, after a couple of days of using the new computer something has
gone wrong with the appearance, namely the fonts on the desktop icons had all
changed byt themselves. Not only on the desktop, but some pull-down menus,
Windows Explorer screen, tabs, and even some graphics on Internet Explorer 7.
I'm not sure, but I believe it's the font used on that Vista welcome window
(actually the one used for the word "Welcome"). We don't like it, sometimes
it's hard to read, and I've been able to change it to something else in some
of the cases where it's been altered, but not all.

Flash forward a couple of days, and now the old one with XP that I
transferred the files FROM (which still is in use) is having font problems.
The only thing is in this case the icon shortcut names, menu labels, taskbar
tabs, etc. are a bunch of symbols, squares and the like. I take that to mean
that I don't have the font installed that it would've changed to, as in the
situation with the Vista computer, so I'm getting these unintelligible
symbols. As I said, both computers worked fine for a few days. I didn't use
the XP computer until a couple of days after I got the Vista computer up and
running, so I believe that's why the lag in the problem turning up. But it
does seem interesting that after a couple of days of running fine after the
transfer, both computers would have similar problems, which leads me to guess
there's somthing up with Easy Transfer Wizard? Is this a registry problem?
Has anyone else had this problem, or have you heard about it before? Is there
any way to rectify it?

 

[Nonny]

does seem interesting that after a couple of days of running fine after the
transfer, both computers would have similar problems, which leads me to guess
there's somthing up with Easy Transfer Wizard? Is this a registry problem?
Has anyone else had this problem, or have you heard about it before? Is there
any way to rectify it?

It's not the transfer wizard if things were fine for a few days.

It's somethig else. Virus? Malware?

 

[donster]

To get your XP back to normal, have you tried the Appearance tab ?
Right-click on Desktop > Properties > Appearance > Advanced

In the top pane click on Message Text and set the font to Tahoma 8

 

[donster]

Yes, I did that, and that alllowed me to see some things, but not others.
For instance, the splash screen that appears when you first boot up is
supposed to say "welcome", well, I assume it still does, but it's in that
unreadable symbol font. Or say that I click on my Control Panel, all the
options ("Add Remove Programs, etc.) are in this font, and when I run the
cursor over them and the window pops up I can tell which option it is. As I
said, this is the problem with the XP computer that I transferred files from,
the Vista copmuter experiences the same thing, it's just that the font it
changed everything in these instaces to we can read, even we'd rather not
have that font, becuase it's not EASY to read, just due to the style of font.
I believe that if the XP computer had that type of font installed we may be
seeing that, but it doesn't so we're seeing this symbol type font, which I
have seen before...certain symbols replace letters. It just seems strange
that it did this on it's own, on both computers, and after a couple of days.

 

[donster]

Format both computers and clean install.

Oooh, that drastic, huh? Only thing, you know how it goes these days...you
order the computer from HP, and everything come fully installed with no disks
included. Well, they did send me drivers for the monitor, but that's it.

 

[donster]

Before you clean and reinstall I suggest you use the restore facility in
XP to restore your system to a day or two before you did the transfer. I
did not have the courage to believe in Microsoft programs like that easy
transfer so I am going the long route. Thanks for validating my
decision.

I was a little leery, and I'd be lying if I said it went perfectly smooth,
but anticipating problems maybe made it a little less painless, and it
actually was. As I said, I though I was cool for a couple of days. Only
thing is the Vista computer's my mom's and she was giving me her old XP Dell
in consideration for being the computer genius I am...ha! So I don't know if
she wants to go that route.