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How to rebuild the Font Cache in Windows - Universal Type Client 7

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Jeff
  • Updated

To rebuild the font cache in Windows 10:

  • Press Win + R to open the Run dialog. Type services.msc in the Run box.
    Run Services Msc

    This opens the Services console.

    Services In Windows 10
  • Find the Windows Font Cache service in the list.
    Windows Font Cache Service In The List
  • Click on the Stop button on the toolbar.
    Windows Font Cache Service Stopped
  • Go to the following folder by navigating one folder at a time. Do not copy and paste the path directly as certain folders are protected and you may need to press the Continue button to access them: 
       C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache
    Windows Font Cache Service Profile Folder
  • Delete the contents of that folder.
  • Delete the file %WinDir%\System32\FNTCACHE.DAT.
  • Now, you can start the Windows Font Cache service which you previously stopped.
  • Restart Windows 10.

NOTE: If you have stopped the service but still cannot delete the files, here is a workaround.

  • Download ExecTI.
  • Use ExecTI to run cmd.exe as TrustedInstaller.
  • In the command prompt opened as trusted installer, type or copy-paste the following command:
      del /A /F /Q "%WinDir%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache\*FontCache*"

This should resolve the issue.

Tip: You can use the following command to stop and start the Windows Font Cache service.

  net stop FontCache
  net start FontCache

Window 7 and 8.1

On Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, the Font Cache files are located directly in the following folder:

  %Windir%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local

There is no separate FontCache directory like Windows 10. In this case, be careful not to delete the other folders. Delete only the *.DAT files related to the font cache.

Note: If your fonts are still corrupted and displaying invalid characters after resetting the cache, the installed fonts in C:\Windows\Fonts may be damaged. To restore the default fonts that ship with Windows, run the following command from an elevated command prompt:

  sfc /scannow

Let Windows restore the original font files.

Thanks to winaero.com for the above content.

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