# What Happened To My Font?



## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hi Again,

After starting my computer today some of the fonts on websites are now changed to this tiny, impossible to read font. What's weird is that not everything on the pages are this way. For example, when I go onto Yahoo, I have no problem reading the stories, and my email, etc. But up at the very top the links at the very top left for Mail and My Yahoo are changed AND the wording at the very bottom of the page that is about copyright info and "contact us" links. I hope I'm making sense...and/or am explaining this in a way you can understand. How would this change without my help and how can I fix it? THANKS so much for your help!!


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

When IE is open, click on View/TextSize and then choose a larger size than what is selected now. Some viruses or other malware do this, so I would scan you system thoroughly for both.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

I actually did both of these things and it didn't change. Hmmmm...could it be possible that something is actually getting past the scans that I do for malware and viruses? I have AdAware, Spybot S&D, Spyblaster, Spyware Guard and Norton. I update them and run them frequently...what else should I do? The interesting thing is that it's not the size of the font that changed but the style...it's the strangest thing I've ever seen. Any ideas? Thanks, by the way, for all your help....SO very much appreciated! [Oh, and I agree with your quote....you should smile often...it absolutely affects the people around us. It's like the water rippling affect, you know? One life touches another life and then that one touches another life and so on...very cool. : )


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

Ok, open IE and click on Tools / Internet Options. Toward the bottom you will see a button for Fonts. Click on it. On mine, it says "Latin Based" / "Times New Roman" and "Courier New". If yours already say that, change it to something else and see if it will take the change. 

Post back & let us know. ps thanks for the comment on my signature line - i have it to remind me - sometimes i get so caught up in 'stuff' i just plain forget!


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

It was set on those already! I just don't know what happened because I didn't change anything..it was just like that one day when I turned on the computer like normal. I have scanned my computer for everything WITH everything I have I have... It wouldn't be that big of a deal but on one site I went to (cuisinart) to check on a product I'm having repaired I couldn't read so much of it...very frustrating. Any other suggestions? THANKS!


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Any ideas?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hello? Anyone there to help?? Thanks!


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

Open Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs. Locate Internet Explorer 6.1, and highlight it. Click on Add/Remove. Choose Repair from the 3 options given and let it run. Restart if it tells you to. 

If that doesn't work, see if you have ie6setup.exe on your hard drive somewhere and run it to reinstall IE.

*****as a sidenote, do you have antivirus & spyware tools, and are they up to date? have they all been run to eliminate the possibility a virus or malware program is causing this? *******

let us know how it goes.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Fixed IE...still no change. I ran all ofmy spyware tools that are currently up to date. So, that's not it. How do I go about locating ie6setup.exe on my hard drive to reinstall it? Thanks for your help.


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

do a search (Start/Find/FilesOrFolders) for ie6setup.exe on your c: drive. if you don't have it, go here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...cb-5e5d-48f5-b02b-20b602228de6&DisplayLang=en to get it. once you reinstall, you will need to run windows update to get the latest security patches for it and Outlook Express.

ps - you checked for spyware, what about viruses? did you do that too?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

How sure are you that this will work...for some reason reinstalling things makes me feel nervous. I'm afraid of losing stuff, not doing it right, or something else major...you know? Oh, and yes, I ran my Norton...nothing came up.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Hi 

My first suggestion probably would have been View>Text Size as well.

Or sometimes with a mouse, holding down Ctrl and at the same time move the scroll up/down can change font size.

Does it happen on every website or just some?

I see you checked Fonts via Tools>Internet Options
How about Tools>Internet Options>General tab>Accessibility 

Is anything checked in there?


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

Cheeseball81, why didn't I remember the Accessibility button!?!? Thanks for stepping in there.

jjmudlin, I can't guarantee reinstalling will work, but you've checked all the other solutions I could think of. But if you are uncomfortable with it at all, see if anyone else here has an idea. The people on this site are great. I don't know if you should start a new thread and in it, reference this one so new readers know what you've already tried, or if you want to summarize it in the new thread. But maybe a subject of "Is reinstalling IE the only option to fix this problem?"

Good Luck! kimmer


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hi There! Thanks Cheeseball 81 for helping too! I went into Accessibility and nothing was checked...should I check something?? Thanks!!


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## JPLamb (Jan 27, 2005)

if you need the internet but ie still does not work you can download netscape or opera from the net this is a similar program to ie. you need to type 'netscape' or 'opera' in to google. this will alow you to use the net with no problems until you get ie working or just keep using them

hope this helps


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Hi jj 

You scanned for viruses/spyware, etc. 

I think you had posted a Hijack log not too long ago.
Did that get solved?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hey Cheeseball 81...are you around? I was hoping you could check my last reply to your message! I'd like to check on that before I do anything with IE. Thanks!!


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Ummmm...I think that was solved. I had mentioned that my computer was acting weird. I posted a log and someone told me that it was clean but that I had "a ton of things running". I was told to be wary of Netzip (I'm not sure why) but was not told what I could replace it with if I shouldn't have it. And I also asked what I should try to get rid of so that I could have less things running. I'm guessing doing this would help my performance? I never did resolve that...I guess I have some issues. This font thing, though, has been the weirdest and most frustrating!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Hi jj

I was wondering when this whole font thing started. Could you maybe post a print screen of what it looks like?

Have you tried repairing IE, or just did a reinstall of it?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

How do I post a print screen?


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

What I do is, when I have the webpage up, I hit the PrintScreen button on my keyboard (right next to F12).

Then open Microsoft Paint, go to Edit>Copy
The picture should come up, save it. Then attach the image in this thread.

Have you tried the IE Repair Tool?
http://support.earthlink.net/mu/1/psc/img/walkthroughs/windows_9x_nt/browsers/ie_6.0/8458.psc.html


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

I went to the webpage that's giving me trouble. I hit the Print Scrn button but nothing happened. What is supposed to happen? I opened up Paint just in case something actually did happen and I just didn't know it. I went into Edit but the copy option was not available for me to click...which leads me to believe I didn't do the first step right.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Oh, and yes, I have tried the IE repair tool...it did not change my font problem. I think someone asked me if it was the entire page or just portions...indeed, it's just portions that are screwy and it's not every page I go to...just some. Hmmmm...


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

My bad, I should have said Edit>Paste  

Try doing it again 

I'm quite baffled by this! 
So the repair was no good, did you attempt the uninstall/reinstall?


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Open Internet Explorer. Select View from the menu, then Text Size. Set it to Medium. Restart the computer.


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## JPLamb (Jan 27, 2005)

Is it the main text or just the ads.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Alright...please walk me through the uninstall/reinstall process and we'll see if that does the trick.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

You have Windows 98, right?

I found this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293907/EN-US/


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Yikes, I was gone for the weekend...sorry to keep you hanging! Okay, I may have fixed the problem. You had mentioned in an earlier reply to check under options and then under accessibility. So, I did and I checked "ignore font styles on the web page". As soon as I clicked on that the font appeared normal (and LEGIBLE!) on the page I was viewing! I hope that fixes it for all the pages. What still puzzles me is how these things change without my knowledge? Any answers to that one? Thanks for hanging with me until I get stuff fixed!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Welcome back, jj 

I'm glad that worked! 

Not quite sure how that happened.
There was a time way back where fonts would be bigger for me only on this website when I'd browse.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hey Cheeseball81,
My husband mentioned that he can't go to any website that has secured items on it or is secured...however you say it. This is his work computer. He came home telling me about it and the first thing I did was tell him how much you had helped me...so...he is running Windows XP. He set all of his security settings to low as a "just in case" that was the problem. The warning pops up saying "you are about to be directed to a secure sight. do you want to continue?" He clicks "yes" and it immediately says "page cannot be displayed". Can you work your magic?


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Hi jj

Hmmm that could happen for a few reasons.

He could try this link to check all the IE6 security settings: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/using/howto/security/settings.mspx

Check cipher strength:
IE toolbar>Help>About Internet Explorer
Look at what it lists as the Cipher Strength. It should be 128-bit.

It could be a firewall

Or possible some kind of infection, but try the other options first.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hi there...back to my font thing. I went to a site just now looking at real estate and in the areas where you type what city you're desiring to look in, the font was all crazy again. I tried to use the ctrl and scrolling thing which didn't work. I tried to adjust the text size. The interesting thing is that no matter what size I tried to change it to nothing on the page changed. But when I went back to my yahoo email the font there had changed. Why would a page not be affected and well, now we're back to trying to figure out what's causing this! Too good to be true! (I did click on "accessibility" and the box I checked to "fix this" earlier is still checked. Rats...any thoughts? Thanks!


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## kimmer13 (Nov 28, 2001)

what's the web page? did the font revert to what it was before we thought it was fixed, or is it now a new font altogether?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Reverted back to the old font... Century 21 was the site.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Still stumped...you all must be, too!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

I wish I could see it


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

I'll try again but I couldn't get the "PrntScrn" thing to work. Tell me again...do I highlight it before pushing the button? Please tell me step by step what I'll do since I didn't seem to do it right last time. And then why 'Paint' and not 'Word'? Also, if it's of any consolation, I did try to just right click, copy and paste it but when I did that the font returned to normal after I pasted it.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

No. Just press PrintScreen while on the page. Then go to Start->Programs->Accessories->Paint. Select Edit from the Paint Menu, then Paste. The snapshot will be pasted in Paint. Save the file, then attach it to a reply.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Okay! I was able to save it as a file. However, I clicked on 'manage attachments' to upload the page, I found the file I wanted, clicked 'upload' and then the screen went to 'page cannot be displayed'. What should I do? Thanks!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Are you still unable to attach? 

There have been times where I get the 'Page Cannot Be Displayed' error on the first attempt.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Tried twice...I'll try again...


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Can't get it to work...it says 'page cannot be found'. As I read down it says to check my connection. I disabled my firewall just in case that was the trouble but, alas, it didn't make a difference. I've just never had so many troubles with a computer in all of my life!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Wanna e-mail it to me and I will try posting it?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

sure...how shall I do that? : )


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

I sent you a PM. I wonder why it's not working. What kind of file is it saved as? .Jpeg? .Bmp? 

We're just running into all sorts of problems lol


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Cheeseball81 said:


> I sent you a PM. I wonder why it's not working. What kind of file is it saved as? .Jpeg? .Bmp?
> 
> We're just running into all sorts of problems lol


Paint will always save it as .bmp. Since is a graphics file, it will take some time to Upload.


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

www.cuisinart.com looks ok to me.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Here is her printscreen shot.

Note: I got the same error when trying to upload the bitmap file so I saved a copy as a jpeg instead.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Wondered if maybe it has to do with the encoding?


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

It could be due to a corrupted Font file. Which Operating System is running. If Windows 98, let us know if Standard Edition or second Edition.

Better-off, download and run Hijackthis. Let us see the running processes:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html

Run a Scan and Save the log. Copy and Paste itas contents in a reply.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

I remember seeing her have Windows 98 SE in her Hijack This log.

Oops you must have edited that reply


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

I see a HJT log on a previous thread. Is that the same computer?


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

I believe it is. But maybe we should wait until she replies. I think she had a Hijack log analyzed a few weeks ago (Feb. 3)


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Wow...hi everybody! Okay, what would you like to know?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Same computer? yes


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

There is a process to replace and rebuild the FONTS folder in Windows. It is quite extreme however. It will require to rename the existing FONTS folder and rebuild a new one. You will need to do this at your own risk. This can be also accomplished by reinstalling the Operating System over itself, which will be another option. The process is as Follows:

If you have a folder in your computer labeled C:\Windows\options\Cabs, the location of the Fonts in the CABS in Windows98 SE is as follows:

Win98_47.cab -> *.FON
Win98_52.cab -> *.ttf
Win98_53.cab -> *.ttf
Win98_69.cab -> *.ttf
MINI.cab -> *.ttf

The process to rename and rebuild the FONTS folder is as follows:

Restart the Computer in MSDOS. At the prompt type the following pressing Enter after each line (You need to use the exact Syntax as presented below):

Attrib -s C:\Windows\Fonts
Move C:\Windows\Fonts C:\Windows\Fonts.01
md c:\windows\fonts
attrib +s c:\windows\fonts
extract /a C:\Windows\options\Cabs\win98_47.cab *.fon /l 
c:\windows\fonts
extract /a C:\Windows\Options\Cabs\win98_52.cab *.ttf /l 
c:\windows\fonts
extract /a C:\Windows\Options\Cabs\win98_53.cab *.ttf /l 
c:\windows\fonts 
extract /a C:\Windows\Options\Cabs\win98_69.cab *.ttf /l 
c:\windows\fonts 
extract /a C:\Windows\Options\Cabs\MINI.cab *.ttf /l c:\windows\fonts

Please do not perform this process until Cheeseball81 replies with his point of view.

If you do not have a C:\Windows\Options\CABS folder in your computer, but a Windows 98 SE installation CD, the C:\Windows\options\CABS in the command should be replaced with D:\Win98, if D is your CD_ROM drive letter.

In case of an error after this process is completed, you can always reverse your actions by running the following command at the prompt: *(But only if the process of renaming the FONTS folder has been accomplished)*

Attrib -s C:\Windows\FONTS
Deltree C:\Windows\FONTS
Move C:\Windows\FONTS.01 C:\Windows\FONTS
Attrib +s C:\Windows\FONTS

Let me know your point of view. Cheseball81.

To clarify the command:

extract /a [Location Of CABS]\MINI.cab *.ttf /[letter L] c:\windows\fonts


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

YIKES! You're right...this is quite extreme. Are we thinking this is the only solution?


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

How did this happen in the first place...anyone have any guesses on that?


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

jjmudlin said:


> YIKES! You're right...this is quite extreme. Are we thinking this is the only solution?


If you have a corrupted file, is either that or reinstalling the OS over itself.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

A file can get corrupted for any reason. Possibly due to a bad sector. Run Scandisk.


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

It is an extreme process. 

This font thing has become quite baffling. We have pretty much checked all the obvious things from the beginning. 

And the last Hijack log was clean on Feb 3. I remember cybertech checked it.

I went to the Centry 21 site and everything was OK for me.
The only thing I thought of was I right clicked on the webpage to check my encoding.
Mine is set to Unicode (UTF-8) 

But I did not know if that was exactly related to the problem.

I very much trust JSntgRvr's judgement though.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

I have edited the POST since due to lack of space, the command appears as two (2) lines when in fact is only one line for each command:

extract /a [Location of CABS]\MINI.cab *.ttf /[Letter L] c:\windows\fonts

I am Off for the night, let us know your decision.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

Hmmmm...I imagine I'll just deal with it. I'm actually pretty nervous about such a detailed process to fix an annoyance, you know? I know, I know...that sounds lame but I'd hate to mess something up and then REALY be in trouble. I sure do thank you, though, for all the tremendous amount of time that you guys have taken out of your lives to try to help me remedy this problem. It's astounding. Thanks...


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

I'm headed to bed as well. I'm just too nervous to jump into that...I know I'd be in WAY over my head!


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

You're welcome. Sure wish we could do more. Take care!


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Run the System File Checker and Scan for altered or corrupted files:

Go to Start->Run, type SFC, click Ok. Select "Scan for altered or corrupted files", click Start.

You will be presented with many files that have been changed to a new version, or files that may be missing. It will be up to you to update the Database or extract these from the cabs if these are Windows core files (files that have changed to a new version should be allowed, just update the database), but if the file altered has an extension .ttf, or .fon, these are Fonts files. You can extract these files from the C:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder if exists, or from your Windows 98 SE installation CD (E:\Win98 folder, where E is the letter assigned to your CD_ROM). Backup the file if prompted.

At least this is a process that is not as extreme as the previous one.

Best wishes!


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

When you say "up to you to update the Database or extract these from the cabs" is this actually a step or several steps I will take BEFORE I look for the altered files (.ttf or.fon) and extract them? Secondly, How do I extract them from C:\Windows\Options\Cabs or Windows 98 SE installation CD. Is this either or? Or will this be extracting these things from BOTH of those choices? I'm definitely a "specifics" kind of a person. I want to make sure that I do everything as I'm supposed to step by step. (you probably feel like you've told me how already!!) I'm afraid of the frustration of a)not doing it right or b)getting stuck because I'm not clear on the instructions. Thanks for the clarification! : )


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Run SFC. It will be like a trip to the park. Follow the instructions on Screen and you will have no problems. The utility is User Friendly.


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## jjmudlin (Jan 21, 2005)

I ran SFC...after it was finished scanning, it simply said "your computer has been scanned for altered files" I clicked "ok" as that was the only option. I was not presented with any files. In fact, nothing happened. The little popup went away after I clicked "ok" and the System File Checker window is still there. I feel so dumb. Should I try again?


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

That means that no altered files were found during the Scan.

Have you tried to reinstall Internet Explorer?


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## Cheeseball81 (Mar 3, 2004)

Don't think we did the uninstall/reinstall. Tried the repair though.

I left this link in page 2 of this thread: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293907/EN-US/


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Lets try this:

Start the Registry Editor (Start->Run, type Regedit and click Ok).

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Active Setup \ Installed Components \ {89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}

Highlight the key {89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383} by clicking on it. On the right pane look for the IsInstalled value. Right click on it, and then click Modify. Change the value data, from 1 to 0 and click Ok.

Use the same process and change the IsInstalled value from the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Active Setup \ Installed Components \ {44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C} from 1 to 0.

Go online and download the latest version for your OS:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...cb-5e5d-48f5-b02b-20b602228de6&DisplayLang=en


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