fonts disappear from Office Apps after reboot

[Michelle]

So - I'm at my wits end - any suggestions would be appreciated!!

On an XP SP2 machine with Office 2003 SP2 we install a true-type font and it
works just fine. We can see it in Control Panel \ Fonts folder as well as
use it in Office products. We logoff/login - same thing - works fine. We
restart system -
this font is no longer available in Office products but are still visible in
Fonts folder. This happens with many fonts that we install - so it's not
font specific.

We've rebuilt the device twice and the problem reoccurs for this pocket of
users. We've had them login to test machines and it works fine (ruling out
ID related issue). I've logged into his machine and had the issue
(generating a new local profile). So - we think we've narrowed it down to
their physical devices with a physical reboot.

From reading another thread re: fonts, I did confirm the registry of the
device does have the Fonts key and does contain all the fonts. This problem
is specific to the applications (Adobe and Office) not being able to see/use
the fonts after a reboot.

Has anyone come across something like this? Any suggestions where to start
troubleshooting further?

Thanks!
Michelle

Note: I also posted this in the XP General forum but haven't had any
response yet so I'm cross-posting here...

 

[Bob I]

Perhaps there is an issue with your printer? Only font that the default
printer can use will be shown. If your default printer is generic text
or none, most of your fonts will not show in Office. So start checking
what is up with your printer or it's connection.

 

[Michelle]

Hi Bob - great thought ... but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be this.
His default printer is an HP LaserJet 8000 ... he has a few other printers
listed but none called "generic text"...

Also - this problem only happens when he reboots - after install it's fine;
after logoff/login it's fine - restart and it creates this strange scenario
where apps don't see the true type fonts, but the OS still does (in Control
Panel | Fonts)...

M~

 

[Bob I]

I'm puzzled, doesn't he log on after a "reboot"? What printer is coming
up as the "default on" in the Office applications after a "reboot". It
sounds like something "funny" is happening during a "reboot" to the
printer connections. (see last sentence of previous reply)

 

[Michelle]

Hi Bob - yes, he does logon after a reboot. What I meant was that if I
choose Start - Shut Down - Log off and then log back in it's fine. It's when
I choose Start - Shut Down - Restart and then log back in (after it reboots)
that the problem happens.

As for the default printer - in Office it's set to the HP LaserJet 8000
printer. We've looked into possible problems with the printer/connections
and everything appears "normal".

Thanks for your suggestions.
M~

 

[Bob I]

The only thing that I can say in this difference is that in a "restart"
the "PC hardware" does not reinitialize, as it would in a cold power up.
And since a log off and log on leaves the operating system and hardware
alone, I'd say there is something "fishy" going on with the restart and
your PC hardware. Office can only work properly with the operating
system and hardware working correctly. So, you either track down what is
going on with the hardware in a restart, or avoid putting the computer
in that particular scenario, (don't restart and try to use the HP8000)

 

[maslow]

I am having the same problem. Using Vista. Did anyone get this resolved
Fonts disapear on cold reboot in all office adobe applocations and nee
to be manually reinstalled, while they are still in the font list

 

[ahess]

I've got a similar issue. Our company creates a program that needs
custom fonts installed. At one site, that uses our program, they run
the installer that installs the fonts and the program runs fine. As
soon as they reboot their systems it will not load our custom fonts. We
found out it does the same this in MS Word, install font, run Word,
works fine, reboot, run Word, can't access custom fonts.

Has anyone found a solution for this? I was going to have them try to
set the registry permissions, but a lot of sites are leery of giving
open permissions to their users.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I've got a similar issue. Our company creates a program that needs
custom fonts installed. At one site, that uses our program, they run
the installer that installs the fonts and the program runs fine. As
soon as they reboot their systems it will not load our custom fonts. We
found out it does the same this in MS Word, install font, run Word,
works fine, reboot, run Word, can't access custom fonts.

Has anyone found a solution for this? I was going to have them try to
set the registry permissions, but a lot of sites are leery of giving
open permissions to their users.

You might want to pick one or two relevant Windows newsgroups to post this
question in as well.

Most apps don't deal directly with the fonts collection in Windows;
Windows and the printer driver supply a list of installed fonts when apps
ask for it.

Since this happens in both Word and your program, it would seem to be a
Windows issue.

 

[ahess]

For anyone who comes across this -lpickard- was on the right track. For
some reason the System account didn't have any permissions to
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts\ in the
registry. So, when the fonts were installed they were cached, but after
rebooting then the System couldn't reload them. Not sure why the
standard fonts were loading, but once the System was added and given
permissions it works fine.