Windows XP refusing to install Open Type Font (OTF)

I've been trying to figure out why this won't work for some time to no avail. OTF fonts are supposed to have native XP support, but everytime I try to install various OTF fonts, whether I install through the folder or copy paste, and no matter how many different places I download them from, it gives me the error message "Unable to install (font) (OpenType) font. The font file may be damaged. Check with your font vendor about obtaining a new file". I have not been able to find any reason why this will not work and I would appreciate any advice that can lead me towards solving this issue so that I can use these fonts I need.
Answer
Answer

We had a similar issue and it seems to be a memory problem. The Open Type Fonts (OTF)s run through a device driver to render, while Truetype Fonts (TTF) do not.

Windows is setup with a preset ceiling for the amount of memory these drivers can take. If you have a lot of printers, devices or a fancy video card with a big driver (which was our case), the memory will run out and the OTF driver won't be loaded.

You can try to trim down the amount of memory you're using by going through what's installed, or you can simply up the ceiling by editing the registry key.

To do this, open Regedit (as an administrator) and browse to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Look for the "SessionImageSize" key. If it doesn't exist, create it as a REG_DWORD and set it's value to 20 (decimal).

This will make the ceiling 32MBs after you restart the computer.

Depending on the purpose of the machine and the number of devices installed, you can try increasing the amount further.

40=64MB

60=96MB

80=128MB

I suggest not going above 64MB unless you have more then 2GB of RAM.

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Last updated March 30, 2022 Views 7,561 Applies to: