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_Thomas_C_Rogers_
Participating Frequently
August 7, 2008
Question

Unable to install Type 1 fonts in Windows XP

  • August 7, 2008
  • 69 replies
  • 44519 views
I'm having problems loading Type 1 fonts into Windows XP. I loaded ATM 4.1 light and get the following error message when trying to load the fonts through it: 'Cannot activate font <fontname>. The font files are invalid.'<br /><br />I've removed ATM 4.1 from my computer and ran the ATM 4.1 light updater to fix the registry problem, but now get the following error message when trying to load the fonts through the windows font folder: 'Unable to install the <fontname> font. File "D:\fontname___.pfm is either invalid or damaged"' <br /><br />So I'm thinking that the registry is not completely fixed as it seems the .pfm files are not being associated properly. I've tried re installing windows and that did nothing. I would really prefer not to have to re format the hard drive and start from scratch as I already had to do that with this brand new Dell laptop due to issues with MS Office. I guess that's my worst case scenario. I also have Adobe Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, and Acrobat Pro 8.0 on the computer. I don't think any of those would be causing my problems, but I mention it in case might. <br /><br />Does anyone have any ideas of how I can fix this problem? Thanks, Tom
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    69 replies

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    p645n
    Participant
    July 25, 2009

    I'm running XP 64 Bit on an Asus P5Q Pro, Intel Core 2 Duo 8400, 8 GB of memory with an ATI 4670 video card, latest drivers.

    I've been unable to install (legal) Type 1 fonts from Adobe & Letterhead.

    I used the registry hack in detailed in Reply # 65

    Letterhead fonts lists a hack here:

    http://www.letterheadfonts.com/news/index.php?a=blog&id=92

    The hack worked for me.

    Thanks to all those that have posted.

    BigJohnD
    BigJohnD
    Participating Frequently
    March 26, 2009
    > > the registry fix #65

    I have nVidia card (8600GTS), though the (WinXP SP3) PC is DIY, and I noticed some odd behaviour with T1 fonts after I updated the vid card driver but didn't connect the two until I read this thread.

    I arrived at this thread like lots of others who were trying to install a Type1 font and kept getting the "invalid or corrupt" error, which was clearly false. I know I was installing from an ancient 1993(?) 720KB floppy, but the disk checked OK on every other count.

    I amended the registry as per post #63 but it didn't seem to work, but I was able to install the T1 fonts in safe mode.

    So a big thank you to all you guys, and I now have some rather old T1 fonts installed and all is well with an old InDesign publication.

    Diolch yn fawr!

    Iechyd da! John
    22:36 26/03/2009 GMT
    A
    Anonymous
    February 13, 2009
    I have just experienced the same issue on the lenovo T61. Thank you so much for post #65!
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    _envirographics_
    Participant
    February 4, 2009
    Hi, the registry fix #65 also worked for me, XPhome 32bit OS and an ATI Fire GL 5600 pro video card.
    Many thanks indeed, saved what could have been a major problem at the start of a PC build, inability to progress any further with the build without fonts !

    Whilst here on a thread fcastro may come back to, I shall ask, you mention 64bit XP, wiki says installer for ATM doesnt work on 64bit, what are the steps to resolving this, or what Font manager do you run ?

    Envirographics
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    _Alice_LaPlante_
    Participant
    January 29, 2009
    Toby: Would you mind (for a very non-technical user) providing a step-by-step instruction on what exactly you did? I have your exact Dell laptop latitude 6500 running Windows XP Professional and same NVidia Quadro NVA 160M.

    Thanks!

    Alice
    T
    Thomas Phinney
    Inspiring
    January 16, 2009
    I'll update my blog post to note that the problem is not specific to Nvidia, thanks!

    Side note: 8 GB of RAM? That's gotta be expensive... I was just looking up memory prices for my HP HDX18t laptop. There are two slots, and a 2 GB module is $40 or $50, but a 4 GB module is $340. Ouch. I am reminded of why I decided to get it with 2x2= 4 GB total RAM.

    Cheers,

    T
    _
    _fcastro_
    Participant
    January 14, 2009
    Just wanted to let everyone know that this fix (#65) also applies to ATI video cards because that just fixed the OTF problem for me as well. Running Windows XP x64 with 8 gigabytes of ram. thanks!
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    _Herb_V_B_
    Participating Frequently
    January 14, 2009
    Glad it worked. And thank you for adding additional valuable information!

    - Herb
    T
    Thomas Phinney
    Inspiring
    January 12, 2009
    yay John!

    For what it's worth, I have now provided a lengthy explanation of ALL FOUR of the reasons I know for a complete inability to install any/all OpenType .otf and "PostScript" Type 1 fonts on Windows, in a blog post here:

    http://www.thomasphinney.com/2008/12/19/no-font-install

    (currently hosted on WordPress.com, but I recommend linking the above permanent URL instead)

    Cheers,

    T
    _
    _dave_ingraham_
    Participating Frequently
    January 12, 2009
    Just to make sure that I give credit where credit's due, the fix was provided to me by a guy in HP tech support named John Camparone. John saw the problem I was having, but nVidia tried to tell him that they didn't. He ended up overnighting a laptop to them to prove that the problem existed. It took a few for them to come up with a fix, but John kept me in the loop the entire time.

    I've had issues with HP tech support in the past, but John really went above and beyond with this problem. Thanks John!
    _
    _Michael_Forte_
    Participant
    January 11, 2009
    This is absolutely amazing! You guys have no idea how long this has been a thorn in my side. I could never figure out what my problem was other than it HAD to do with the nVidia drivers. I even formatted my machine a number of times to gain access to my fonts. It was to the point where I was losing all of the fonts required to do my job.

    The fix in post #65 worked perfectly! All of my Type 1 fonts install without a problem and everything is working great! This was on an Lenovo (IBM) T61p with the latest Lenovo nVidia driver.

    Personally, I have never liked nVidia cards or drivers that much. I greatly despise their drivers. All of my non-work personal computers run ATI cards and the driver set (especially custom drives) are amazing!

    I will never purchase an nVidia card unless I have no other choice.

    Thank you for this post....I only hope nVidia will get off their butt and create a better driver that doesn't break our systems.
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