# Help! My 4-year-old scrambled my XP desktop! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280 "2002-12-12T18:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/1 "2002-12-12T18:12:09Z")
My son was playing games on my kids’ computer, and the next thing I knew, all of the text on the desktop was in some weird symbol font. The icon labels, system tray items, most text on most of the windows, everything. Totally unreadable. I have no idea what he could have done by accident so quickly to do this, and of course, neither does he. Nor do I know how to fix this. This is the only machine I’ve had with XP and I’ve never used it, I just got it for the kids, so I am not familiar with any options XP has to change the font. What makes it worse is that I can’t read the text that would allow me to figure out how to fix it. The MS web site explains how to change fonts, but you select specific Windows elements. In this case, it looks like the font for _everything_ was all changed at once. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/2 "2002-12-12T18:18:10Z")
Easy fix. Go to start - all programs - accessories -system tools -system restore. System Restore program will come up with “restore my computer to an earlier time” selected. just click next. on the next screen will be a calendar. Just pick a recent date and time when you know your system looked ok and click next, and then finish. Your system will reboot itself and when it comes back up it should look and behave exactly lke it did on the date you restored to. Keep in mind any programs installed since that date will have been uninstalled by the restore, but emails, documents, and files are all safe and left alone. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/3 "2002-12-12T18:39:07Z")
Wow, that’s a pretty cool feature. The only tricky part will be that I can’t actually read the start menu cuz it’s all garbage characters, but I think I have a solution to that. I can bring up WordPad and type in the commands I need to look for then compare the symbol text. Thanks **Max**!! ---
**Author:** ![NPavelka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/edb3f5/32.png) [@NPavelka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NPavelka)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/4 "2002-12-12T18:44:08Z")
Well go to the All Programs (the green arrow on the start menu) and accessories (most likely the top folder in the programs) and look in the folders for an icon that looks like a computer monitor with a small green arrow in the lower right part of it and one of those MS looking clocks in the top left… that is the system restore. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/5 "2002-12-12T21:05:33Z")
Much obliged, **NPavelka**. I will try this tonight. Man, this board is the best. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/6 "2002-12-12T21:29:12Z")
Then, get this: [PawSense](http://www.bitboost.com/pawsense/) It’s meant for cats, but it ought to work for four-year olds. ---
**Author:** ![Spacegirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Spacegirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spacegirl)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/7 "2002-12-12T23:14:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by asterion \* > \*\*Then, get this: [PawSense](http://www.bitboost.com/pawsense/) It’s meant for cats, but it ought to work for four-year olds. \*\* lol, From the website: > [@](#): > > Cat-like typing detected That sounds so surreal, like trying to stop the evil typing cats from taking over the world! ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/8 "2002-12-13T03:32:01Z")
if you had a mac you would have happened. Our 5 has been the mac for years and has never done anything to it. ---
**Author:** ![Spacegirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Spacegirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spacegirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/9 "2002-12-13T05:16:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > \*\*if you had a mac you would have happened. Our 5 has been the mac for years and has never done anything to it. \*\* hmm…you okay there **CaptMurdock**? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/10 "2002-12-13T06:10:59Z")
It’s actually **CaptMurdock** ’s cat who made that last post. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/11 "2002-12-13T06:28:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > \*\*if you had a mac you would have happened. Our 5 has been the mac for years and has never done anything to it. \*\* But…but…a mac doesn’t have windows XP on it, so of course they couldn’t screw it up 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/12 "2002-12-13T09:10:57Z")
Never done anything on it, eh? So, he’s just been staring at the keyboard and screen all these years? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-4-year-old-scrambled-my-xp-desktop/142280/13 "2002-12-13T14:41:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > \*\*if you had a mac you would have happened. Our 5 has been the mac for years and has never done anything to it. \*\* You sure your 5 not one who post this?