I'm on Windows XP.
Some time ago, while trying out a number of different font management programs, something went wrong. I don't know what happened but now some applications, in some of their GUI controls, use the System(12) font instead of the Windows default one (which should be Microsoft Sans Serif 8, I think).
This happens, for example, with most installers (at the beginning of the installation, in subsequent dialogs the fonts display just fine), and a number of programs.
Here's Microsoft/Sysinternals' Autoruns:
You can see the tab names, as well as the text in the bottom panel, displayed with the System(12) font. On a different machine, they simply use "MS Sans Serif 8" (detected using HwndSpy).
I tried:
- deleting the Windows font cache file (c:\windows\system32\fntcache.dat)
- modifying the registry values for "MS Shell Dlg" and "MS Shell Dlg 2", as explained here
...to no avail.
Any suggestions on what else I could try to have the default font back?