Removing a font from Windows

Question

I've downloaded a font named Helvetica, thinking I was really downloading the real Helvetica. It happens that the font has that same name and when I visit a website that is using Helvetica the browser uses the ugly font I downloaded. I'm a webdesigner and visiting websites with ugly fonts is not that fun. Can anyone help me find a solution? I've tried to remove it but the system always argue that the font is being used by another program, even if I have everything closed.

Solution

A few options come to mind. First options, download Process Explorer, part of the sysinternals tool set from Microsoft. Search for the file name in memory to find how it's loaded:

Find -> Process or Handle

Once you find it, you can close the handle by right clicking on it and selecting close handle from the menu and that should then allow you to delete the file.

If after closing the handle, it still won't delete, or it doesn't have a handle in memory, then try deleting the font from the command line:

start -> run -> cmd
C:\> CD C:\Windows\Fonts
C:\Windows\Fonts> del [font file name]

A final option is to attempt to remove all references to the font from the registry.

start -> run -> regedit

Once in the registry, search for the font by file name to remove the references (make sure to create a backup of your registry before doing this, as changing the registry can cause the system to become unstable if not done carefully). After removing the references and a reboot it shouldn't be in memory and thus should allow you to delete it.

If none of those options work, then you may be required to boot from a LiveCD or USB device to get at the file system and delete the file that way. This final option is guaranteed to work provided the boot system you use can access and modify the Win7 drive file system (if it's a win7 livecd shouldn't be a problem). You may want to try the liveCD option before diving into the registry if you aren't comfortable making changes in the registry.

Comments

[Tiago Castro]

or at least disable the font.. Someone?

[Naidim]

Helvetica is not actually a free font. You need to pay for it. Microsoft avoided paying the royalty fees by using Arial instead, although Apple includes it with MacOS.

[surfasb]

Verdana looks way better anyways.

[Tiago Castro]

I've tried to remove it but the system always argue that the font is being used by another program, even if I have everything closed.

[surfasb]

I assume you've tried this in safe mode?

[Tiago Castro]

Thank you, a million answers and one guy that truly read my question and answered me what I wanted to hear. Nice to know there is guys like you! Best Regards, Tiago Castro

[Tiago Castro]

yes, but with no success, I followed the Matrix Mole advices and that worked

[Tiago Castro]

ho by the way, the first two options didnt worked, the third one has been successful :) thanks again