# Can Fonts affect my PC?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 11, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482 "2003-03-11T04:25:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shai\_tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shai_tan)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482/1 "2003-03-11T04:25:11Z")
I downloaded a bunch of fonts and installed them in my Windows font directory. While I was browsing the font selection in MS Word, I came across one in the pull down font selection window that had a blank spot where the name should be. I selected it and my computer INSTANTLY shut off. It didn’t power-down or start the shut down process, it just did an _immediate_ reboot!
Okay…
Upon opening MS Word again, I noticed that the “blank” font was in a section of fonts with the same name (\*bold, \*italic, \*lite, etc…). I deleted every font with that name to rid my computer of what I viewed to be a “faulty” font. I continued to browse and added MORE fonts to the directory. Some of the fonts in the pull down menu are written in that particular font _in the pull down menu itself,_ but only shows up as rectangular boxes when I attempt to use it in a document. After I finished installing fonts, NONE of my fonts work. They ALL show up as rectangular boxes… even the original fonts like Times Roman and Microsoft Sans Serif…
What’s the deal?
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### Author:  [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482/2 "2003-03-11T07:07:30Z")
Corrupt TrueType fonts can definitely cause your computer to crash when a program tries to use them. I wouldn’t expect them to affect any other fonts, though.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482/3 "2003-03-11T12:28:18Z")
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- What was the fonts that first started acting screwy, and where did you download them from?
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### Author:  [@Barney111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barney111)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482/4 "2003-03-11T13:16:47Z")
Most versions of Windows don’t seem to be too happy when you have more than 200 or so fonts installed.
Being a font freak myself, I have about 4000 fonts on my machine, but only keep about 200 installed at any one time. The best solution is to get a font manager (I use Bitstream Font Navigator).
The way a font manager lets you have a lot of fonts without freaking out Windows is simple - it installs shortcuts to your fonts in the C/WINDOWS/FONTS folder instead of the fonts themselves.
If you like fonts, and see yourself collecting more, a manager program is the only way to go.
BTW, corrupt font files are very rare (although they do occur). Also, real font files are not executable and cannot spread viruses.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fonts-affect-my-pc/160482/5 "2003-03-11T19:31:09Z")
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- I don’t know about WinXP, 2000 or NT, but Win98 seems to bomb out around 1000 installed fonts, which corresponds with the base-2 number 1024. I never found anyone who had managed to install more than 1024, so I would bet that’s the limit in that OS.
- I used to have 700-800 installed on Win98 with no problem, but I use a font manager now, just because you can keep fonts organized to find a particular style you need easier.
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