Instead of letters, what to do with squares. How to fix a font if there are strange symbols instead of Russian letters

Many computer users have already encountered this problem. It appears after installing applications, games, Russifications and other files downloaded from the Internet. The main reason for the appearance of incomprehensible squares instead of sane signs and symbols is the process of interference with work operating system. Each program you install, obtained from the Internet, makes certain adjustments to the system.

The squares have no effect pernicious influence directly on performance personal computer(PC). However, they bring a lot of inconvenience, since all fonts and pictures are subject to such correction that it becomes simply impossible to work with them later. How to get rid of hieroglyphs and squares that appear instead of letters?

Many desperate amateurs who have become victims of such influence decide to radical measures, namely, to reinstall the entire system on your PC. This method of dealing with the scourge certainly helps, but the problem can be dealt with by much less radical measures.

We present to you step by step instructions, the implementation of which will significantly save you time and help get rid of violations. It is worth noting that this method requires intervention directly in the registry, which is the foundation of the operating system, so you need to carefully and strictly follow established order. Otherwise, you may create unnecessary problems for yourself. So let's get started:

1. Enter “Registry Editor”. To do this:

Press the WINDOWS icon key on your keyboard;

Then, while holding down this button, hold down the “R” key (for the Russian keyboard layout, the “K” key). A window will open at your service in which you can launch programs. Type regedit into the command input line and click on the “OK” button or press ENTER.

Fig.1. The "Run" window, in the text field of which we write regedit

1. A menu will open in front of you with folders presented there on the left side. You should go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage.

To do this you need to open:

In the first step, a folder called "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE";

In it we are interested in the section called "CurrentControlSet", we need to go into it.

1. Our target is a section called "CodePage". Having reached it, you should select it on the left in the “Registry Editor” itself. After you complete this procedure, the right side of the registry will show large number parameters. In this list we are interested in only three parameters. They need to be discovered. Namely, parameters with designations:
2. “1250”;

• “1253”.

1. Let's start working with them.

First, left-click on the “1250” parameter;

After this, the window we need will open under the name indicated at the top of it, “Changing a string parameter”;

In it you will find two lines, we need to continue working with the line entitled “Value”;

In this line you need to change the content to “c_1251.nls”, then click the “OK” button or press the ENTER key;

Fig.2. Changing the encoding in the registry window.

We perform the same procedures for the two remaining parameters “1252” and “1253”.

1. After all the above procedures, you should restart your computer. When the PC turns on again, instead of hieroglyphs and squares, letters and numbers will again appear in front of you.

Alternative way

All necessary changes can be made directly to the system registry using another, less cumbersome method. IN this method you will need a REG file. The contents from them will make all the necessary changes to your PC.

You can download these files on the Internet.

Setting up Windows correctly.

Before taking any radical measures, let’s set up or check Windows settings. For this we will open Control Panel (Control Panel) and select " Languages regional standards " (Regional and Languadge Options), on the " tab Regional standards"(Regional Options) find the section" Locale standards and formats" (Standards and formats and Location) - it is responsible for the form and language in which the date, time is written, what measures of length are used, and so on. In our case, it is best to set it Russian(Russian). The second parameter in the " Location"responsible, among other things, for system fonts, this is exactly what we need. You need to make sure that there is displayed - Russia(Russia).

On the second tab " Additionally"in the group" Language of non-Unicode programs"We need to stick out our tongue Russian(Russian). This option allows programs that do not support Unicode to display menus and dialogs in their own language by installing the required code pages and fonts. However, programs designed for other languages ​​(eg East Asian) may not display text correctly. The system language only affects programs that do not use the Unicode format. The selected language does not change the menu and dialog boxes Windows and other programs that support Unicode.

On the "tab" Languages" (Languages) in the group Languages ​​and services text input click the button More details, in the opened tab Options(Parameters) make sure that in the " Installed Services "The Russian language is assigned the Russian keyboard.

After this, when displaying all menus and messages, XP will use Russian encoding. Of course, this will not affect the Latin letters in any way. In Russified programs, instead of letters, there are krakozyabrs. If you have configured the "Regional Settings" correctly, but still, in Russified programs (for example, in Photoshop) gibberish is shown in the names of windows, commands and panels, then most likely you will have to resort to the following advice, it should be noted that it is for experienced users and is more suitable for non-Russified Windows versions, otherwise problems with Russian-language programs may begin.

1. Open the registry.

Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\Nls\Codepage.

2. Change the value of parameters 1250 and 1252 from cp_1250.nls to cp_1251.nls and cp_1252.nls to cp_1251.nls respectively. (For Windows 2000/XP the names have changed slightly - C_1251.NLS without one letter).
3. The changes will take effect after restarting the computer.
4. WARNING: NEVER delete or change information in the registry unless you are sure it is exactly what you need. Otherwise, incorrect data changes may lead to failures in Windows work and, in best case scenario, the information will have to be restored.

When typing, squares appear instead of Russian letters:

If you are sure that the font is Cyrillic, then pay attention to whether it is a font. It is believed that this is an old problem and is of little relevance now, but questions on this topic are still found on the forums. There are two code tables(WesternEurope) and (Cyrillic). 1252 includes the Unicode ranges BasicLatin (simple Latin) and (diacritics for French, German, etc.). 1251 includes the Unicode ranges BasicLatin and Cyrillic. Unicode applications will select characters by Unicode number, there are few problems here. With non-Unicode applications the situation is more complicated. IN general case they will only access CP1252 (WesternEurope) characters. All of the above does not depend on the version of Windows! If the Cyrillic alphabet in the font sits in the place of the extended Latin alphabet (CP1252), then in non-Unicode programs everything will be fine, but Unicode programs will stall: when entering with the Cyrillic layout, they will look in the font for characters with Cyrillic Unicode numbers (CP1251) and not find them. If the Cyrillic alphabet is on the legitimate CP1251, then, on the contrary, non-Unicode programs will not find it. There are several ways to deceive everyone and screw the Cyrillic alphabet here and there.

1. Duplicate the Cyrillic alphabet at the bottom 1252 (WE) and 1251 (Cyr). This is what ParaType does, for example, in its fonts with the name suffix CTT. There will be some tension here with the Euro symbol and the Serbian letter Ђ - let’s say thanks again to the Unicode Commission for our happy childhood without their care and without their euro.
2. Make a font containing only CP1251 (Cyr), and then decompose it in the registry (w2k/XP) or in win.ini (Win9x) into [font_name] Cyr, just as we decompose Times New Roman into Times New Roman Cyr, Times New Roman CE, etc. This can be done with the WGL Assistance program (and similar ones). In order for WGL Assistance to see this font as Cyr, when generating it in FontLab you need to set Supported CodePages: 1252 and 1251.
3. Make a font containing only CP1251 (Cyr), and then use the wonderful hack named after Bill Gates himself. If some byte in the font file is changed from 00 to CC, then such a font will be considered Cyrillic, i.e. This means that with this font, non-Unicode programs will access CP1251, which is what we need! ( It's about about the high byte of the fsSelection field of the OS/2 table. This is an undocumented feature and, moreover, contrary to the TrueType specification, but this is exactly how system national fonts were designed in Win3.11.) You can do this manually if you know how to look for this byte, but it’s easier to use FontLab. This is done like this: Microsoft Character Set is installed Cyrillic CP1251, to avoid glitches with some Unicode programs (for example, Word 8/97) we also install Supported CodePages: 1252 and 1251. Then in the TrueType properties we check the box Put MS Char Set into fsSelection field. It's all in the bag (sorry for the pun). This feature will work under Win9x, w2k (and most likely XP too; under NT - I don’t know).

From theory to practice

Krakozyabry- What kind of word is this interesting? This word is usually used by Russian users to describe the incorrect/incorrect display (encoding) of characters in programs or the Operating System itself.
Why does this happen? You won't find a definite answer. This may be due to the tricks of our “favorite” viruses, perhaps due to a malfunction of the Windows OS (for example, the electricity went out and the computer turned off), perhaps the program created a conflict with another OS and everything went haywire. IN general reasons there can be many, but the most interesting one is “It just got up and broke.”
Read the article and find out how to fix the problem with encoding in programs and Windows OS, once it has happened.

For those who still don’t understand what I mean, here are a few:

By the way, I also found myself in this situation once and I still have a file on my desktop that helped me cope with it. That's why I decided to write this article.

Several “things” are responsible for displaying the encoding (font) in Windows - the language, the registry, and the files of the OS itself. Now we will check them separately and point by point.

How to remove and correct krakozyabry instead of Russian (Russian letters) in a program or Windows.

1. Checking installed language for programs that do not support Unicode. Maybe it's lost on you.

So, let's follow the path: Control Panel - Regional and Language Options - Advanced tab
There we make sure that the language is Russian.

6. Last point, in which I give you a file that helped me fix everything once and that’s why I left it as a keepsake. Here is the archive:

There are two files inside: krakozbroff.cmd and krakozbroff.reg

They have the same principle - correct hieroglyphs, squares, questions or exclamation marks in programs and Windows OS (in common parlance krakozyabry). I used the first one and it helped me.

And finally, a couple of tips:
1) If you work with the registry, do not forget to make a backup ( backup copy) in case something goes wrong.
2) It is advisable to check the 1st point after each point.

That's all. Now you know how to fix/remove Crackers (squares, hieroglyphs, exclamation and question marks) in a program or Windows.

Often, after installing certain applications on your computer, their Russification, updating, etc., fonts are displayed incorrectly in certain windows of these applications, as well as in the windows of the operating system itself. As a rule, this does not affect the stability of the computer, but it creates a lot of inconvenience for users, since the windows instead of letters display hieroglyphs, squares, numbers and other symbols they do not understand. Often it becomes simply impossible to work on such a computer. A significant part of users solve the problem radically - reinstall Windows or take the computer to a workshop. Although often you can get out of the current situation much easier. Of course, the method proposed by the author is not a panacea, but in most cases it solves the problem.

For starters, Make sure your locales and locales are configured correctly:

(items in brackets may sometimes be missing)

• go to “Control Panel” - click “Start” - (“Settings”) - “Control Panel”. There we go to (“Date, time, language and regional standards”) - “Language and regional standards”, a window of the same name will open (see figure below);
• on the "Regional Options" tab: in the “Language standards and formats” section we indicate “Russian”; in the “Location” section - your country;
• on the "Languages" tab: in the “Languages ​​and text input services” section, click the “More details” button. A window of the same name will open. Make sure that on the “Settings” tab in the “Installed services” section the Russian language corresponds to the Russian keyboard (see figure below), and click the “OK” button;
• on the "Advanced" tab: in the “Language of programs that do not support Unicode” section, set “Russian” (see figure below). Click the “Apply” button, then “OK”.

If on a computer specified settings have already been performed or after their implementation the problems with displaying fonts have not disappeared, it is necessary to make some changes to the system registry.

To solve a problem with font display

in Windows XP you need to change the value of the parameters “1250” and “1252”, which are located in the registry branch HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage, from “c_1250.nls” to “c_1251.nls” and from “c_1252.nls " to "c_1251.nls" respectively.

• Launch "Registry Editor" (see box above).
• Sequentially opening the corresponding folders on the left side of the Registry Editor, go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage branch. (This means that you first need to open the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” folder, open the “SYSTEM” folder in it, and “CurrentControlSet” in it, etc.)
• When you get to the CodePage section and highlight it on the left side of the Registry Editor, a pretty decent list of options will appear on the right side. You need to find the parameters “1250” and “1252” among them. Then double-click on the first one with the left mouse button. The Edit String Parameter window opens. There, in the “Value” window, “c_1250.nls” needs to be changed to “c_1251.nls” and click the “OK” button (see figure). After this, similarly change the value of parameter “1252” from “c_1252.nls” to “c_1251.nls”. Click the “OK” button and restart the computer.

After reboot the problem with incorrect display fonts should disappear.

Krakozyabry- What kind of word is this interesting? This word is usually used by Russian users to describe the incorrect/incorrect display (encoding) of characters in programs or the Operating System itself.
Why does this happen? You won't find a definite answer. This may be due to the tricks of our “favorite” viruses, perhaps due to a malfunction of the Windows OS (for example, the electricity went out and the computer turned off), perhaps the program created a conflict with another OS and everything went haywire. In general, there can be many reasons, but the most interesting one is “It just broke down like that.”
Read the article and find out how to fix the problem with encoding in programs and Windows OS, once it has happened.

For those who still don’t understand what I mean, here are a few:

By the way, I also found myself in this situation once and I still have a file on my desktop that helped me cope with it. That's why I decided to write this article.

Several “things” are responsible for displaying the encoding (font) in Windows - the language, the registry, and the files of the OS itself. Now we will check them separately and point by point.

How to remove and correct krakozyabry instead of Russian (Russian letters) in a program or Windows.

1. We check the installed language for programs that do not support Unicode. Maybe it's lost on you.

So, let's follow the path: Control Panel - Regional and Language Options - Advanced tab
There we make sure that the language is Russian.

6. The last point in which I give you a file that helped me fix everything once and that’s why I left it as a keepsake. Here is the archive:

There are two files inside: krakozbroff.cmd and krakozbroff.reg

They have the same principle - correct hieroglyphs, squares, questions or exclamation marks in programs and Windows OS (in common parlance) krakozyabry). I used the first one and it helped me.

And finally, a couple of tips:
1) If you work with the registry, then do not forget to make a backup (backup copy) in case something goes wrong.
2) It is advisable to check the 1st point after each point.

That's all. Now you know how to fix/remove Crackers (squares, hieroglyphs, exclamation and question marks) in a program or Windows.