Weird Font Change on XP Startup

[Retrac1324]

Whenever I turn on my Windows XP Home SP2, it gets to the User Select Menu. When I click my User, it says Welcome [Andrew], then hangs for a few seconds. When it shows Loading Personal Settings under my name, the font on the text "Welcome" changes [gets noticably smaller].

I have cleartype enabled, but I know it shouldn't change the size that much.

I recently had a font problem where a bunch of fonts moved, but I've reinstalled them and they work fine in Word/Notepad/Etc.

I'll post pictures if I can.

Thanks!

[Retrac1324]

THIS IS THE AFTER PICTURE:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8760/startup4yi.png

[GaryRouth]

To tell you the truth, it looks perfectly normal. . . But if you had a display theme that you preferred earlier on, you should be able to use System Restore to go back to those settings by selecting a restore point from prior to your font changes.

You mention somehow losing fonts some time ago: did this trace back to either a virus infection, or some over-aggressive cleanup? The standard fonts should extract OK from your Windows XP CD (if you have one) - or from the .cab files stored on your hard drive (if you don't have the XP CD). For other fonts, they generally arrive with publishing and office programs - reinstalling these restores the fonts as well.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

P.S. . . to double-check your local virus-scanner, you could try one of the online scanners - HouseCall is pretty thorough, but the latest version takes a long time to run -- it's at http://housecall.trendmicro.com

[Retrac1324]

BEFORE PICTURE



AFTER PICTURE:

[toomyg]

Mine does that too gets but at a smaller degree

[Cricket]

The issue is so minor why even worry about it? Does the computer work okay while in Windows?

Cricket

[toomyg]

Originally Posted by Cricket The issue is so minor why even worry about it? Does the computer work okay while in Windows? Cricket

Ya really

I use a win2000 PC at work sometimes and I know the boot up and stut down screens are different but it does all most the same thing

[Retrac1324]

Yeah, i'll just forget about it, i could probably change it if I tried

[GaryRouth]

Just to see, I did a little looking around (I hadn't noticed much difference in Welcome screens before) . . . I didn't find anything that stated point-blank what the default Welcome screen default fonts and resolutions are - though my guess is that the default resolution starts at 800x600 with a fixed system font - then as soon as you begin to logon, the screen very quickly begins to change to your settings. If something goes awry in all this = you'd have to imagine that the problem would lie somewhere in the Registry (since it tends to store most settings).

The closest thread to this one doesn't come up with any clear answers, but you might enjoy knowing that others have come across strange font behavior at the Welcome Screen also. Here's the similiar thread, from "Google Answers" http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=375261

I don't remember how Socrates put it - but it seems somewhat true that the wise man grows more and more certain that he knows very little. Microsoft seems to be making sure of that with the mysterious ways their software behaves.

. . . Gary

[toomyg]

Believe it or not I thought of that too that the fonts were fixed then when user settings kick in they change it's sorta like the sound event kicks in when the desk top loads then other times it kicks in on the welcome screen well it happens to me sometimes I just ignore it