Windows 10: How do you delete system-protected fonts?

Hi there: this happens to me most times Windows updates to a new version—I wind up with a new set of fonts.


For reasons which I won’t go into here, I dislike Arial, and in the old days of Windows 7, and even the last Windows 10 I had version 1909? I managed to get rid of it, and put something else in its place namely a font I already had a licence for, but edited and renamed Arial.


However, on 2004, this has proved impossible. So far I have tried these methods to remove references to it or delete it:

• Go into registry and delete the key the method described at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...em-fonts/141fc4b8-34fb-4ef3-aaa3-51fce725235c
• Go into registry and have key point to a new font with the same name
• Go into the fontsubstitutes key and have Arial point to Helvetica
• Do the same but in the 64-bit section in the registry key
• Use elevated command prompt and delete
• Go into safe mode and do the above
• Take ownership of relevant font files through elevated power shell, then delete
• Go into safe mode and do the above
• Delete FNTCACHE.DAT from system32 directory
• Delete ~fontcache files from Local

None have in fact worked.


Windows’ own font viewer says it has worked; Nexusfont shows the replacement. However, neither is correct. When you go into individual programs including Edge and Vivaldi, there’s the original Arial arial.ttf in all its splendour on pages that specify it e.g. Google results.


So just what is loading c:\windows\fonts\arial.ttf? And is there another way probably via safe mode, which is how I did it in 1909 to change its attributes to make it “deleteable”?

:)

 

Windows 10: Unable to delete fonts (protected systems)

I found a way to delete the system protected font Comic Sans MS.

• Open up regedit
• Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts
• Make a note of all of the names of the fonts that you want to remove
• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes
• Create a new string key for each font name that you will delete and set the Data to the name of the font that you want to replace it with.

For example, I removed "Comic Sans MS (TrueType)". I added a new key "Comic Sans MS" and value "Arial". I did this for all 4 comic sans fonts.

• Then go back to the Fonts section and delete the keys for the fonts that you no longer want. The font files will still be on the hard drive but windows will no longer use them.
• Reboot
• Enjoy a life free of ever seeing Comic Sans again!

I can make a simple program to automate this if there is enough interest.

Do be careful if you are deleting fonts that the system actually uses. It worked with comic sans because it really isn't used by the system. Don't go deleting Segoe UI.

 

Windows 10: Unable to delete fonts (protected systems)

I have followed the suggested procedure exactly but still receive the same message to the effect that the font(s) in question cannot be deleted because it is a "protected"font!

 

Windows 10: Unable to delete fonts (protected systems)

Hi,



Welcome to Microsoft community.



The system fonts cannot be deleted and it is protected, you can delete the fonts which are downloaded from the website.



Hope it helps.