How to Fix Corrupted Fonts in Windows

Windows users have the option to customize the fonts of the computer's operating system manually, by downloading and installing custom fonts. Although it is a rare occurrence, the files of these fonts may become corrupted leading to the UI showing weird symbols instead of the expected text. If you are experiencing the same issue, try to fix it by following the instructions outlined below.

Reset the Default Font Settings

1. Type control panel in the search field on the taskbar and open the top result. 
2. From the 'View' menu select 'Large Icons' and then open the 'Fonts' section.
3. From the options displayed on the left side of the window, select 'Font Settings.'
4. All that is left is to click on the 'Restore default font settings' button under 'Font settings.'
5. Reboot the computer system.

Reset the Default Font Settings via Registry

This is essentially the same process but achieved by creating a Registry file. 

1. Press the Windows button + R on your keyboard. 
2. In the Run dialog box, type notepad.exe and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open an elevated Notepad instance. 
3. Paste the following code there:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]

"Segoe UI (TrueType)"="segoeui.ttf"

"Segoe UI Black (TrueType)"="seguibl.ttf"

"Segoe UI Black Italic (TrueType)"="seguibli.ttf"

"Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf"

"Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuiz.ttf"

"Segoe UI Emoji (TrueType)"="seguiemj.ttf"

"Segoe UI Historic (TrueType)"="seguihis.ttf"

"Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuii.ttf"

"Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"="segoeuil.ttf"

"Segoe UI Light Italic (TrueType)"="seguili.ttf"

"Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"="seguisb.ttf"

"Segoe UI Semibold Italic (TrueType)"="seguisbi.ttf"

"Segoe UI Semilight (TrueType)"="segoeuisl.ttf"

"Segoe UI Semilight Italic (TrueType)"="seguisli.ttf"

"Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"="seguisym.ttf"

"Segoe MDL2 Assets (TrueType)"="segmdl2.ttf"

"Segoe Print (TrueType)"="segoepr.ttf"

"Segoe Print Bold (TrueType)"="segoeprb.ttf"

"Segoe Script (TrueType)"="segoesc.ttf"

"Segoe Script Bold (TrueType)"="segoescb.ttf"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]

"Segoe UI"=-

4. Save the file in an easy-to-access location and use '.reg' as a file extension. Set the 'File Type' to be 'All Files.'
5. All that is left is to locate the file, right-click it, and select 'Run as Administrator.'