windows fonts have all turned to symbols

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G

Guest

I am unable to read anything in any windows programs. I am running windows
xp sp2. This problem occurred out of the blue - no crash or anything. My
computer was running great, as I have a pretty good knowledge of computers
and keep mine tuned up. I have up- to- date virus protection and regularly
clean up the spyware. System restore will not fix this problem...it says no
changes have been made to the system.
The only thing I can read and use is my browsers. I am stumped!!! I have
found references to this problem, but no solutions. Any help would be
appreciated.
Thanks, Pam
 
Hey Pam!
In google search, I entered, Microsoft fonts, was taken to Microsoft
Knowledge Base Links, Microsoft Internet Explorer,Help and Support
Missing Menu Command in the Fonts Folder>

I have tried to copy and paste here?
If it don't work look for it as described above??


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Missing Menu Commands in the Fonts Folder
Article ID : 133725
Last Review : December 16, 2004
Revision : 3.2
This article was previously published under Q133725
On this page
SYMPTOMS
CAUSE
RESOLUTION
MORE INFORMATION

SYMPTOMS
When you open the Fonts folder in Windows Explorer, the following commands
may be missing from the Fonts folder menus. On the File menu: • Open
• Print
• Install New Font
On the View menu: • List Fonts By Similarity
• Hide Variations (Bold, Italics, Etc.)

CAUSE
This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons: • The System and
Read Only attributes are no longer set for the Fonts folder. The Fonts folder
must have its System and Read Only attributes set to work correctly.
• The Fontext.dll file may be missing or damaged, causing the menus to
contain only the commands for a generic folder.
• The Desktop.ini file may be missing or damaged. Note that you do not see
the Desktop.ini file when you view the Fonts folder. To see the file, open an
MS-DOS session and view the Windows\Fonts folder.

RESOLUTION
To restore the correct commands for the Fonts folder, follow these steps: 1.
At a command prompt, switch to the Windows folder by typing the following
command:
cd\windows
NOTE: If Windows is installed in a folder other than the Windows folder,
adjust these instructions accordingly.
2. Type the following command:
attrib +s +r fonts
3. Shut down and restart Windows.
NOTE: You cannot set the System attribute for the Fonts folder within the
graphical user interface.

If the commands for the Fonts folder are not restored, the Fontext.dll file
may be missing or damaged. To replace the Fontext.dll file, use the steps in
the appropriate section below.
Windows 95/98
1. Restart Windows in MS-DOS mode.
2. Change to the Windows\System folder.
3. If the Fontext.dll file exists, rename it Fontext.old.
4. Extract a new copy of the Fontext.dll file from the original Windows
disks or CD-ROM to the Windows\System folder.

For information about using the Extract tool, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files
5. Restart Windows normally.
If the issue persists, the Desktop.ini file may be missing or damaged. To
replace the Desktop.ini file, follow these steps:
1. Restart Windows in MS-DOS mode.
2. Change to the Windows\Fonts folder.
3. If the Desktop.ini file exists, rename it Desktop.old.
4. Extract a new copy of the Desktop.ini file from the original Windows
disks or CD-ROM to the Windows\Fonts folder.

For information about using the Extract tool, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files
5. Restart Windows normally.

Windows NT 4.0
1. At a command prompt, delete the Desktop.ini file in the Winnt\Fonts
folder.
2. Delete the Fontext.dll file in the Winnt\System32 folder.
3. Expand a new Desktop.ini file from the I386 folder on your original
Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM to the Fonts folder on your hard disk.
4. Expand a new Fontext.dll file from the I386 folder on your original
Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM to the Winnt\System32 folder on your hard disk.

For example, use the following command:
expand d:\i386\fontext.dl_ c:\winnt\system32\fontext.dll
5. Restart the computer.



Windows 2000
1. Boot into Safe Mode
2. Rename the fontext.dll in the %SystemRoot%\System32 to fontext.old
3. Rename the fontext.dll in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Dllcache to
fontext.old
4. Copy an extracted copy of the fontext.dll file to both folders.
5. Reboot to Normal Mode.

MORE INFORMATION
The resolution listed in this article may also resolve the following
symptoms:

• The TrueType tab is missing when on the View menu you click Options, and
then open the Fonts folder.
• Fonts that are listed in the Fonts folder are not available to be selected
within programs.
 
Go to Fonts Folder and select Folder Options. Select True Type Tab. Check
(uncheck) and see what happens.
 
Hi Guys,

This just happened to me, after a windows Update on 7HP.
what you can do is use explorer to actually type the location of your Fonts directory: C:\WINDOWS\FONTS or ANY directory to browse your system

The system actually knows what you are typing and will take you to any directory you type into the Explorer search bar.

I found out that I only have 3 fonts left ton my system after some kind of software change, windows update etc. Luckily, I had backed up all of my fonts and uploaded a .rar archive of all my system fonts to Google Drive.

I am now logged on to my dedicated server, downloading the fonts that I uploaded to Google.Drive, to my messed up system.

You just have to know the image for certain system folders and system locations to navigate your system with symbols.... I hope this works and is helpful for someone, including me!

Then what I did was use Remote Desktop and an FTP client to ftp into my dedicated server, and name the downloaded fonts directory, to some long character name, so that I would be able to tell what it was by the symbols. I added a bunch of capital L's to the directory name, which in turn, makes the symbols appear as a square. so LLLLLL would be converted to a bunch of squares.

Now once the download finished to my symbol system, I plan on selecting ALL of the fonts from the downloaded directory, and PASTING them into my Windows Fonts directory. Wish me luck.

I have a backup of 3,124 Fonts. if anyone would like a copy of the fonts for their safekeeping, I uploaded the .rar archive for you. They will be here:

http://www.urbanradiousa.com/downloads/WindowsFonts.rar

WOOOHOOO! Update! I just finished FTP'ing and re-installing my fonts. I AM BACK TO NORMAL. once windows installed the Fonts, the system immediately changed to the proper font and the symbols were gone!

Good luck
 
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