No, I don't know what caused it. However, I did a few things before it happened. I deleted the IE history files and temporary internet files, and ran McAfee Quick Clean. Perhaps the combination of these things did it?

i have had this problem probably 6 times. i would like to figure out a way to correct it other than system restore. Is there a font i can delete? Should i reinstall the fonts file from the xp disc.
There has to be an answer of why this is happening and what we can do to fix it.

I will add another search page, but as with all the others in this thread, there is no why nor wherefore.

fonts symbols

If your Fonts file is empty then yes you can put in your xp cd then in fonts choose add fonts & point the wizard to your cd drive.

Once you have your fonts as you like you can change the attributes of the file to read only which might stop any alteration in the future.

As to deleting fonts, sure you can. You only need what you use. Whether or not that would have any effect on this problem, I do not know.

It happened to me again. Once again, it was after running McAfee quick clean. Can that be it? Perhaps it is deleting something I need? If so, how can I tell? Or, has anyone figured this out in the month since my last post?