I’ve been running Windows 7 for about a week now. I’m impressed! It’s like what Vista should have been. Anyway, after uninstalling a copy of Left 4 Dead yesterday, to my surprise all my fonts turned bold or italics.  I mean every font.  System dialogs, PuTTY windows, everything.  A friend of mine pointed me to a solution he found, on Yahoo! Answers of all places!

Apparently the pirated copy of Left 4 Dead I was running has issues when being uninstalled.  These issues manifest in some of your main system fonts being deleted/corrupted.

To fix this, you will need to re-install the fonts which are:

• Tahoma
• Courier New
• Verdana
• Arial
• Arial Narrow
• Arial Bold
• Lucida Console
• Trebuched MS
• Times New Roman
• Marlett

I turned to a second computer also running Windows 7, and copied over the related font files.  The actual filenames for the font files you will need are:  arial.ttf, arialbd.ttf, arialbi.ttf, ariblk.ttf, cour.ttf, courbd.ttf, courbi.ttf, couri.ttf, lucon.ttf, tahoma.ttf, tahomabd.ttf, times.ttf, timesbd.ttf, timesbi.ttf, timesi.ttf, trebuc.ttf, trebucbd.ttf, trebucbi.ttf, trebucit.ttf, upclb.ttf, upclbi.ttf, upcli.ttf, upcll.ttf, verdana.ttf, verdanab.ttf, verdanai.ttf, and verdanaz.ttf.

With these fonts on my font-corrupted Windows 7 machine, I right clicked them, and selected install (choosing to overwrite any existing c opies).

Before figuring out exactly what the problem was, I tried a few Vista specific registry fixes for my problem.  This compounded my problem a little leaving my [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts] hive all messed up.

Here is a bit of code you can copy and paste into a .reg file to restore to install defaults:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
"Arial (TrueType)"="arial.ttf"
"Arial Italic (TrueType)"="ariali.ttf"
"Arial Bold (TrueType)"="arialbd.ttf"
"Arial Bold Italic (TrueType)"="arialbi.ttf"
"Batang & BatangChe & Gungsuh & GungsuhChe (TrueType)"="batang.ttc"
"Courier New (TrueType)"="cour.ttf"
"Courier New Italic (TrueType)"="couri.ttf"
"Courier New Bold (TrueType)"="courbd.ttf"
"Courier New Bold Italic (TrueType)"="courbi.ttf"
"DaunPenh (TrueType)"="daunpenh.ttf"
"DokChampa (TrueType)"="dokchamp.ttf"
"Estrangelo Edessa (TrueType)"="estre.ttf"
"Euphemia (TrueType)"="euphemia.ttf"
"Gautami (TrueType)"="gautami.ttf"
"Gautami Bold (TrueType)"="gautamib.ttf"
"Vani (TrueType)"="Vani.ttf"
"Vani Bold (TrueType)"="Vanib.ttf"
"Gulim & GulimChe & Dotum & DotumChe (TrueType)"="gulim.ttc"
"Impact (TrueType)"="impact.ttf"
"Iskoola Pota (TrueType)"="iskpota.ttf"
"Iskoola Pota Bold (TrueType)"="iskpotab.ttf"
"Kalinga (TrueType)"="kalinga.ttf"
"Kalinga Bold (TrueType)"="kalingab.ttf"
"Kartika (TrueType)"="kartika.ttf"
"Kartika Bold (TrueType)"="kartikab.ttf"
"Khmer UI (TrueType)"="khmerui.ttf"
"Khmer UI Bold (TrueType)"="khmeruib.ttf"
"Lao UI (TrueType)"="Laoui.ttf"
"Lao UI Bold (TrueType)"="Laouib.ttf"
"Latha (TrueType)"="latha.ttf"
"Latha Bold (TrueType)"="lathab.ttf"
"Lucida Console (TrueType)"="lucon.TTF"
"Malgun Gothic (TrueType)"="malgun.ttf"
"Malgun Gothic Bold (TrueType)"="malgunbd.ttf"
"Mangal (TrueType)"="mangal.ttf"
"Mangal Bold (TrueType)"="mangalb.ttf"
"Meiryo & Meiryo Italic & Meiryo UI & Meiryo UI Italic (TrueType)"="meiryo.ttc"
"Meiryo Bold & Meiryo Bold Italic & Meiryo UI Bold & Meiryo UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="meiryob.ttc"
"Microsoft Himalaya (TrueType)"="himalaya.ttf"
"Microsoft JhengHei (TrueType)"="msjh.ttf"
"Microsoft JhengHei Bold (TrueType)"="msjhbd.ttf"
"Microsoft YaHei (TrueType)"="msyh.ttf"
"Microsoft YaHei Bold (TrueType)"="msyhbd.ttf"
"MingLiU & PMingLiU & MingLiU_HKSCS (TrueType)"="mingliu.ttc"
"MingLiU-ExtB & PMingLiU-ExtB & MingLiU_HKSCS-ExtB (TrueType)"="mingliub.ttc"
"Mongolian Baiti (TrueType)"="monbaiti.ttf"
"MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic (TrueType)"="msgothic.ttc"
"MS Mincho & MS PMincho (TrueType)"="msmincho.ttc"
"MV Boli (TrueType)"="mvboli.ttf"
"Microsoft New Tai Lue (TrueType)"="ntailu.ttf"
"Microsoft New Tai Lue Bold (TrueType)"="ntailub.ttf"
"Nyala (TrueType)"="nyala.TTF"
"Microsoft PhagsPa (TrueType)"="phagspa.ttf"
"Microsoft PhagsPa Bold (TrueType)"="phagspab.ttf"
"Plantagenet Cherokee (TrueType)"="plantc.ttf"
"Raavi (TrueType)"="raavi.ttf"
"Raavi Bold (TrueType)"="raavib.ttf"
"Segoe Script (TrueType)"="segoesc.ttf"
"Segoe Script Bold (TrueType)"="segoescb.ttf"
"Segoe UI (TrueType)"="segoeui.ttf"
"Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf"
"Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuii.ttf"
"Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuiz.ttf"
"Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"="seguisb.ttf"
"Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"="segoeuil.ttf"
"Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"="seguisym.ttf"
"Shruti (TrueType)"="shruti.ttf"
"Shruti Bold (TrueType)"="shrutib.ttf"
"SimSun & NSimSun (TrueType)"="simsun.ttc"
"SimSun-ExtB (TrueType)"="simsunb.ttf"
"Sylfaen (TrueType)"="sylfaen.ttf"
"Microsoft Tai Le (TrueType)"="taile.ttf"
"Microsoft Tai Le Bold (TrueType)"="taileb.ttf"
"Times New Roman (TrueType)"="times.ttf"
"Times New Roman Italic (TrueType)"="timesi.ttf"
"Times New Roman Bold (TrueType)"="timesbd.ttf"
"Times New Roman Bold Italic (TrueType)"="timesbi.ttf"
"Tunga (TrueType)"="tunga.ttf"
"Tunga Bold (TrueType)"="tungab.ttf"
"Vrinda (TrueType)"="vrinda.ttf"
"Vrinda Bold (TrueType)"="vrindab.ttf"
"Shonar Bangla (TrueType)"="Shonar.ttf"
"Shonar Bangla Bold (TrueType)"="Shonarb.ttf"
"Microsoft Yi Baiti (TrueType)"="msyi.ttf"
"Tahoma (TrueType)"="tahoma.ttf"
"Tahoma Bold (TrueType)"="tahomabd.ttf"
"Microsoft Sans Serif (TrueType)"="micross.ttf"
"Angsana New (TrueType)"="angsa.ttf"
"Angsana New Italic (TrueType)"="angsai.ttf"
"Angsana New Bold (TrueType)"="angsab.ttf"
"Angsana New Bold Italic (TrueType)"="angsaz.ttf"
"Aparajita (TrueType)"="aparaj.ttf"
"Aparajita Bold (TrueType)"="aparajb.ttf"
"Aparajita Bold Italic(TrueType)"="aparajbi.ttf"
"Aparajita Italic (TrueType)"="aparaji.ttf"
"Cordia New (TrueType)"="cordia.ttf"
"Cordia New Italic (TrueType)"="cordiai.ttf"
"Cordia New Bold (TrueType)"="cordiab.ttf"
"Cordia New Bold Italic (TrueType)"="cordiaz.ttf"
"Ebrima (TrueType)"="ebrima.ttf"
"Ebrima Bold (TrueType)"="ebrimabd.ttf"
"Gisha (TrueType)"="gisha.ttf"
"Gisha Bold (TrueType)"="gishabd.ttf"
"Kokila (TrueType)"="kokila.ttf"
"Kokila Bold (TrueType)"="kokilab.ttf"
"Kokila Bold Italic(TrueType)"="kokilabi.ttf"
"Kokila Italic (TrueType)"="kokilai.ttf"
"Leelawadee (TrueType)"="leelawad.ttf"
"Leelawadee Bold (TrueType)"="leelawdb.ttf"
"Microsoft Uighur (TrueType)"="msuighur.ttf"
"MoolBoran (TrueType)"="moolbor.ttf"
"Symbol (TrueType)"="symbol.ttf"
"Utsaah (TrueType)"="utsaah.ttf"
"Utsaah Bold (TrueType)"="utsaahb.ttf"
"Utsaah Bold Italic(TrueType)"="utsaahbi.ttf"
"Utsaah Italic (TrueType)"="utsaahi.ttf"
"Vijaya (TrueType)"="vijaya.ttf"
"Vijaya Bold (TrueType)"="vijayab.ttf"
"Wingdings (TrueType)"="wingding.ttf"
"Modern (All res)"="modern.fon"
"Roman (All res)"="roman.fon"
"Script (All res)"="script.fon"
"Andalus (TrueType)"="andlso.ttf"
"Arabic Typesetting (TrueType)"="arabtype.ttf"
"Simplified Arabic (TrueType)"="simpo.ttf"
"Simplified Arabic Bold (TrueType)"="simpbdo.ttf"
"Simplified Arabic Fixed (TrueType)"="simpfxo.ttf"
"Sakkal Majalla (TrueType)"="majalla.ttf"
"Sakkal Majalla Bold (TrueType)"="majallab.ttf"
"Traditional Arabic (TrueType)"="trado.ttf"
"Traditional Arabic Bold (TrueType)"="tradbdo.ttf"
"Aharoni Bold (TrueType)"="ahronbd.ttf"
"David (TrueType)"="david.ttf"
"David Bold (TrueType)"="davidbd.ttf"
"FrankRuehl (TrueType)"="frank.ttf"
"Levenim MT (TrueType)"="lvnm.ttf"
"Levenim MT Bold (TrueType)"="lvnmbd.ttf"
"Miriam (TrueType)"="mriam.ttf"
"Miriam Fixed (TrueType)"="mriamc.ttf"
"Narkisim (TrueType)"="nrkis.ttf"
"Rod (TrueType)"="rod.ttf"
"FangSong (TrueType)"="simfang.ttf"
"SimHei (TrueType)"="simhei.ttf"
"KaiTi (TrueType)"="simkai.ttf"
"AngsanaUPC (TrueType)"="angsau.ttf"
"AngsanaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="angsaui.ttf"
"AngsanaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="angsaub.ttf"
"AngsanaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="angsauz.ttf"
"Browallia New (TrueType)"="browa.ttf"
"Browallia New Italic (TrueType)"="browai.ttf"
"Browallia New Bold (TrueType)"="browab.ttf"
"Browallia New Bold Italic (TrueType)"="browaz.ttf"
"BrowalliaUPC (TrueType)"="browau.ttf"
"BrowalliaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="browaui.ttf"
"BrowalliaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="browaub.ttf"
"BrowalliaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="browauz.ttf"
"CordiaUPC (TrueType)"="CORDIAU.TTF"
"CordiaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="CORDIAUB.TTF"
"CordiaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="CORDIAUZ.TTF"
"CordiaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="CORDIAUI.TTF"
"DilleniaUPC (TrueType)"="upcdl.ttf"
"DilleniaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcdi.ttf"
"DilleniaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upcdb.ttf"
"DilleniaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upcdbi.ttf"
"EucrosiaUPC (TrueType)"="upcel.ttf"
"EucrosiaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcei.ttf"
"EucrosiaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upceb.ttf"
"EucrosiaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upcebi.ttf"
"FreesiaUPC (TrueType)"="upcfl.ttf"
"FreesiaUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcfi.ttf"
"FreesiaUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upcfb.ttf"
"FreesiaUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upcfbi.ttf"
"IrisUPC (TrueType)"="upcil.ttf"
"IrisUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcii.ttf"
"IrisUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upcib.ttf"
"IrisUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upcibi.ttf"
"JasmineUPC (TrueType)"="upcjl.ttf"
"JasmineUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcji.ttf"
"JasmineUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upcjb.ttf"
"JasmineUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upcjbi.ttf"
"KodchiangUPC (TrueType)"="upckl.ttf"
"KodchiangUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcki.ttf"
"KodchiangUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upckb.ttf"
"KodchiangUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upckbi.ttf"
"LilyUPC (TrueType)"="upcll.ttf"
"LilyUPC Italic (TrueType)"="upcli.ttf"
"LilyUPC Bold (TrueType)"="upclb.ttf"
"LilyUPC Bold Italic (TrueType)"="upclbi.ttf"
"DFKai-SB (TrueType)"="kaiu.ttf"
"Lucida Sans Unicode (TrueType)"="l_10646.ttf"
"Arial Black (TrueType)"="ariblk.ttf"
"Calibri (TrueType)"="calibri.ttf"
"Calibri Italic (TrueType)"="calibrii.ttf"
"Calibri Bold (TrueType)"="calibrib.ttf"
"Calibri Bold Italic (TrueType)"="calibriz.ttf"
"Cambria & Cambria Math (TrueType)"="cambria.ttc"
"Cambria Italic (TrueType)"="cambriai.ttf"
"Cambria Bold (TrueType)"="cambriab.ttf"
"Cambria Bold Italic (TrueType)"="cambriaz.ttf"
"Candara (TrueType)"="candara.ttf"
"Candara Italic (TrueType)"="candarai.ttf"
"Candara Bold (TrueType)"="candarab.ttf"
"Candara Bold Italic (TrueType)"="candaraz.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS (TrueType)"="comic.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS Bold (TrueType)"="comicbd.ttf"
"Consolas (TrueType)"="consola.ttf"
"Consolas Italic (TrueType)"="consolai.ttf"
"Consolas Bold (TrueType)"="consolab.ttf"
"Consolas Bold Italic (TrueType)"="consolaz.ttf"
"Constantia (TrueType)"="constan.ttf"
"Constantia Italic (TrueType)"="constani.ttf"
"Constantia Bold (TrueType)"="constanb.ttf"
"Constantia Bold Italic (TrueType)"="constanz.ttf"
"Corbel (TrueType)"="corbel.ttf"
"Corbel Italic (TrueType)"="corbeli.ttf"
"Corbel Bold (TrueType)"="corbelb.ttf"
"Corbel Bold Italic (TrueType)"="corbelz.ttf"
"Franklin Gothic Medium (TrueType)"="framd.ttf"
"Franklin Gothic Medium Italic (TrueType)"="framdit.ttf"
"Gabriola (TrueType)"="Gabriola.ttf"
"Georgia (TrueType)"="georgia.ttf"
"Georgia Italic (TrueType)"="georgiai.ttf"
"Georgia Bold (TrueType)"="georgiab.ttf"
"Georgia Bold Italic (TrueType)"="georgiaz.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype (TrueType)"="pala.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Italic (TrueType)"="palai.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Bold (TrueType)"="palab.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Bold Italic (TrueType)"="palabi.ttf"
"Segoe Print (TrueType)"="segoepr.ttf"
"Segoe Print Bold (TrueType)"="segoeprb.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS (TrueType)"="trebuc.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Italic (TrueType)"="trebucit.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Bold (TrueType)"="trebucbd.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Bold Italic (TrueType)"="trebucbi.ttf"
"Verdana (TrueType)"="verdana.ttf"
"Verdana Italic (TrueType)"="verdanai.ttf"
"Verdana Bold (TrueType)"="verdanab.ttf"
"Verdana Bold Italic (TrueType)"="verdanaz.ttf"
"Webdings (TrueType)"="webdings.ttf"
"Courier 10,12,15"="COURE.FON"
"MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24"="SERIFE.FON"
"MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24"="SSERIFE.FON"
"Small Fonts"="SMALLE.FON"
"Small Fonts (120)"="SMALLF.FON"

Hope this helps someone else out there recover from the problem!