How to remove protected system fonts in Windows 7

You may have several reasons why you want to remove fonts from your computer. You may prefer free software, or you may want to speed up your computer by preventing programs from loading all the characters in every font. Whatever the reason, this guide will tell you how to remove any font. You also need to have administrator rights to complete this process.

Steps

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 1

Step 1. Determine if the font is actually the source of the secure system

Enter C: \ Windows \ Fonts (or Start → Control Panel → Appearance and Personalization → Fonts), right-click on the font and select Uninstall. If the font is protected, then you will receive an error message that this font is a system font and cannot be removed.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 2

Step 2. Open Registry Editor

Type "Regedit" (without quotes) into the Start menu and press "Enter". In the security warning box, click Yes.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 3

Step 3. In the left pane, open the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → Software → Microsoft → Windows NT → CurrentVersion → Fonts

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 4

Step 4. On the right side of the window, select the fonts you want to remove, right-click and select “Remove”

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 5

Step 5. Open any program where you can change the font

If you see that the font still exists (which means that Windows really doesn't want the font to be removed), then you need to follow these steps.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 6

Step 6. Go to the C: \ Windows \ winsxs folder

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 7

Step 7. Scroll down and find a series of folders that start with "amd64_microsoft-windows-font-truetype- [x]", where [x] is the name of the font

These are the folders where Windows keeps backups of fonts that it doesn't want to delete.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 8

Step 8. Right click on the folder you want to delete and select Properties

When you try to delete a folder or font, you will receive an error message asking you for permission from "TrustedInstaller" to perform the action. You need to declare yourself the owner of this folder, and then you can change it.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 9

Step 9. Click on the "Security" tab, then at the bottom of the window, click on "Advanced"

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 10

Step 10. In the next window, click on the "Owner" tab and click the "Edit" button

You will see that the current owner of this folder is "TrustedInstaller".

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 11

Step 11. In the next window, click "Administrators" or your account name and check the box that says "Change owner of subcontainers and objects", then click "OK"

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 12

Step 12. Click the "OK" button on all other "Properties" windows to exit

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 13

Step 13. Open the folder properties again (right click and select Properties), go to the Security tab and click Edit

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 14

Step 14. Select the account you selected in step 11, check the box for "full control" and click "OK"

You are now the owner of the folder and the font file in it.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 15

Step 15. Close the "Properties" window

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 16

Step 16. Delete the font file and then delete the folder

If you try to delete the folder right away, Windows will tell you that the folder is open in another program, even if you have no programs running.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 17

Step 17. Go to Registry Editor and delete the font entry

Refer to steps 2-4.

Delete Protected System Fonts in Windows 7 Step 18

Step 18. Restart your computer

The font will no longer be available in programs until you reinstall it.

Warnings

The Registry Editor contains other links to the fonts that you want to remove. You should not remove or modify these fonts as they may render certain programs unusable.
Make a backup copy of any fonts you want to remove. Do not uninstall Consolas or Segoe UI and their derivatives. These fonts are required in the Windows user interface.

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