Corrupt Fonts ruining everything...

Hi Benny11,

There's a couple of things you can try.

First, clear the font caches using Font Finagler.

If that alone doesn't do it, read through my FAQ. I would first follow the instructions in the last section to replace all of the OS X fonts with fresh copies. If after that the problems persist, try reducing the active fonts to those listed in the FAQ/tip.

Let us know what happens.

Glad to hear things are working, Benny. From some of what you describe above with simple applications hanging, the problems are likely deeper than fonts. If the problems come back, then I would consider reinstalling the OS. If you do, make sure to do an Archive and Install. Also make sure to turn on the options to preserve your personal settings and preferences.

Then there's likely more wrong with the OS than a simple Repair Permissions can fix. It also may be errors with the hard drive. Boot to your OS X Install CD/DVD. Don't install the OS when it gets to that point. Instead, launch Disk Utility from the Apple menu bar. Choose the hard drive and click on Repair Disk. If it finds any errors, repeat the function until it reports no errors. If it can't fix the drive, then you'll need something more robust, such as Disk Warrior.

If there are errors, don't bother reinstalling the OS with an Archive and Install until you can fix them, or you won't get much of anywhere. You can do an Erase and Install, which would fix the disk errors (if there are any), but you would also than lose all of your data.

Good to hear, Benny11. Hopefully, corrupt fonts are all that was wrong.

Hi Benny11,

An Archive and Install will replace all fonts normally installed by OS X, as it will any other system files. Since a Repair Permissions hasn't fixed the issue with the /Library/Fonts/ folder, you should probably do the install.

It is common for fonts to be "in use" even after you've closed all applications that you were using them for. But if the system continues to return that error even after a restart, then something is wrong.

If you do a Archive and Install, be sure to turn on the options to preserve your personal preferences and settings.

With that information, it sounds like you have various problems. It's safe to assume that corrupt preferences are an issue since some of the problems go away in the new account. But on the other hand, it's a global OS issue when you still can't remove fonts from the /Library/Fonts/ folder. You should be able to move fonts in and out of that folder pretty much at will.

An through all this, I just now noticed you're using Font Book. You may want to try cleaning up Font Book and your font cache files. First, follow these steps as outlined by Dr. Smoke in Undoing Font Book.

Then follow this additional step.

Download and run Mark Douma's Font Finagler to clear the font cache files on the system.

In the end, it may be Font Book itself that keeps you from removing fonts from the /Library/Fonts/ folder. The way Font Book works now is to close fonts without moving or deleting them from what is normally an active fonts folder. Since Font Book is the one handling whether or not the font is active, the font is indeed "in use". Font Book has a lock on it. This is a bit of conjecture on my part since I don't use Font Book, or even have it on my Mac.