# Crazy Characters



## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

Looks Chinese. Lol.

If you have an android phone go to microsoft website. This has been addressed in their bullentins. They suggest to restore to a older date before this happened. File has been corrupted during an update probably the defender/virus update.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...aracters/253931f5-8c25-4a8e-a112-d1095f793990


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Here's what my Control Panel page looks like.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Windows 10 is a joke. But not very funny.


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## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

I hate windows. Use your android phone and try the link above for info. post2.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)




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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

jmon said:


> Looks Chinese. Lol.
> 
> If you have an android phone go to microsoft website. This has been addressed in their bullentins. They suggest to restore to a older date before this happened. File has been corrupted during an update probably the defender/virus update.
> 
> https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...aracters/253931f5-8c25-4a8e-a112-d1095f793990


I've been reading different solutions for this (and they're all different) for an hour now. The problem is there all old post. The one you just posted is from 2015.

And when you find different solutions for what appears to be the same issue which one do you go with?

I found only one from 2020 and it said to reinstall win 10. I look into it that and it's way more difficult than you'd think. And what I mean by difficult is there's a whole lot of steps, meaning, plenty of ways for me to screw it up.

Thankfully, that laptop is a second pc that I use at the same time with the one I'm typing on now so I'm not in panic mode lol.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Nealtw said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIzDgDDkoD0


I don't think it's a font issue, everything looks fine when I open up web pages and other apps. 

It's only happening on the windows screen and I posted what my control panel screen looks like.

Even when I hit the windows icon at the bottom left that popup showing all of my programs/apps looks fine.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

kwikfishron said:


> I don't think it's a font issue, everything looks fine when I open up web pages and other apps.
> 
> It's only happening on the windows screen and I posted what my control panel screen looks like.
> 
> Even when I hit the windows icon at the bottom left that popup showing all of my programs/apps looks fine.


Computer advise from me is a guess at best. Good luck


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

Using your primary PC as a way to see where you need to go, follow along on your LT. 

Press the Start (Win) key

Click on the Settings (the cog wheel) icon and then click on Recovery. 

You have three options under Recovery:
Reset
Go Back
Advance Startup

Reset is the least intrusive.

Go Back may not be available if your machine was update more than 10 days ago. 

Advance Startup requires you to start up from a disc or USB device and allows you to make firmware changes. 

There is also a section called more recovery options that can allow you to reinstall windows in different ways. 

I would suggest doing the reset to see if it helps. 

Here is an article to help explain things and it is from this decade. 
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-reinstall-windows-3535423/


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Trying the easy reset now.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I have a newer HP with Windows 10. It has more problems than my other two HPs did.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

I have 3 Win 10 LT's, granted all were shipped with it pre-installed, and I have not really had any problems with them. 

But, I am not really doing that much them anymore. Some photo editing, some spreadsheets, a lot of word processing. 

One is an Asus, one is an HP and one is a Lenovo. All LT's and no desktops. 

Just some hardware issues (my wife has a tendency to spill things).


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Well it took 4hr&40min of watching those 5 little dots go round and round but I got my laptop back.

Thanks @ktownskier!!!


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

I only use the laptop for Netflix, YouTube and the like. I have it plugged into a 32" monitor.

The only issue I've seen so far after the reset is now on the 32" half of the tabs on top and the icons on the bottom are chopped off. I tried reducing the screen size to 90% and lower but that didn't help.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

kwikfishron said:


> Well it took 4hr&40min of watching those 5 little dots go round and round but I got my laptop back.
> 
> Thanks @ktownskier!!!


You are most welcome. I am very happy that things worked out for you. 

As for the TV, adjust the aspect ratio. Or, get a chromecast and do it that way.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Do you have the language bar here?










I've had mine change to Korean characters, and I'm able to change back to English.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

Glad you got it fixed.

One option I did not see posted was starting it in "Safe Mode" and then restoring to a last know good configuration.

Starting from a powered off condition press the power button and then immediately begin repeatedly tapping the F8 key. Eventually a Startup Settings menu will come up. Among the options is "Enable Safe Mode". 

"Safe Mode" starts Windows in a basic state, using a limited set of files and drivers. If a problem doesn't happen in safe mode, this means that default settings and basic device drivers aren't causing the issue. Once at your desktop in safe mode, you can now easily restore your computer to a last know good configuration or do a factory reset.

*NOTE:* As the name implies a factory reset will restore the computer to the state is was in when it left the factory. This means any programs you installed or files you saved will be permanently deleted.

This is one of the reasons I urge people to invest in a backup of some sort whether it be an external hard disk drive (HDD) or cloud storage and perform regular backups. 

Cloud storage providers offer automatic backup of your date. External HDD usually include software that once configured will do automatic backups.


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## diyorpay (Sep 21, 2010)

To change text size (icon size), here's what works for me in Win 8.1:

Control Panel --> Display

Section called 'Change Only the Text Size' allows adjustment for different sections of the desktop.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

Drachenfire said:


> Glad you got it fixed.
> 
> One option I did not see posted was starting it in "Safe Mode" and then restoring to a last know good configuration.
> 
> ...



For Win10, follow the the instructions I gave before to get to the Recovery page. 

Click on the Restart Now button.

You will be taken to a new window after a few moments that gives you a few options. 
One is to Continue and return Windows. 
The second is to turn off. 
The next is to boot from a device (USB or DVD)
The final one is to enter Safe mode (it might be called something else)
That will allow you to get to the BIOS as well.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

F8 has worked on every Win 10 system I have worked on.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

Drachenfire said:


> F8 has worked on every Win 10 system I have worked on.


I sit corrected (actually lean, as I am on my recliner).

Out of curiosity, were your Win10 machines upgrades or shipped as Win10's?

I've had 4 Win10 machines and all didn't work with F8. 2 ASUS ROG LT's. The first one I broke the hinges. Well, one of my dogs did as her tail of death kept catching it and knocked it off the sofa. Of course, if I wouldn't have kept putting it in the same darn spot. 

The second is an HP small LT that I got for my wife when her other one died. 

And the last one is a Lenovo Stinkpad. It is actually my wifes work machine but it came from her work configured with their Win10 image. 

None of the 3 worked with F8. Although I could probably count her work LT out of it as they may have locked it down. 

That is why I said F8 no longer works on some machines as I have 4 instances where it didn't work. Granted 2 were of the same manufacturer. All were Intel chipsets.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

All were shipped with Win 10..., I hate upgraded OSs.


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