My Windows Font Folder is missing 'Install New Font' command. How do I fix?

Question: My Windows Font Folder is missing 'Install New Font' command. How do I fix?

The Windows 95/98/XP Fonts folder is a 'special' folder. If the 'Install New Font' command is missing then for some reason the folder has lost its special attributes and is behaving like a regular folder under Windows.

Windows Vista/7 has no 'Install New Font' command. See this illustrated tutorial on How to Install, Preview, and Delete Fonts in Windows 7

Answer: To restore the missing 'Install New Font' command:

1. Restart Windows in MS-DOS mode
   
2. Type cd windows then Enter (return) to go to the Windows directory (or whatever directory where you've installed Windows)
   
3. Type this command: attrib fonts +s
   
4. Shut down and restart Windows
   
5. Check your Fonts folder for the missing commands.

If they are not restored, do the following:

1. Restart Windows in MS-DOS mode
   
2. Type cd windows\system to go to the Windows System folder
   
3. Type dir fontext.dll to see if that file exists
   
4. If fontext.dll exists, rename it to fontext.old by typing: ren fontext.dll fontext.old
   
5. Get a new copy of fontext.dll from your original Windows disk or CD-ROM and extract it to the Windows\System folder
   
6. Restart Windows

If the commands in your Fonts folder are still missing, follow these steps:

1. Restart Windows in MS-DOS mode
   
2. Type cd windows\fonts to go to the Windows Fonts folder
   
3. Type dir desktop.ini to see if that file exists
   
4. If desktop.ini exists, rename it to desktop.old by typing: ren desktop.ini desktop.old
   
5. Get a new copy of desktop.ini from your original Windows disk or CD-ROM and extract it to the Windows\Fonts folder
   
6. Restart Windows

If none of these procedures work or you hit a snag, post an inquiry to the About Windows forum asking for additional help.

All the FAQs: Career & Business | Software | Design & Layout | Graphics | Type & Fonts | Prepress & Printing