Thoughts from the EPS Windows Server Performance Team
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Description: A font is a collection of numbers, symbols, and characters. A font describes a certain typeface, along with other qualities, such as size, spacing, and pitch. TrueType fonts and OpenType fonts come with Windows. They work with a variety of computers, printers, and programs.
Scoping the Issue: Are your fonts not displayed correctly or are they hard to read? If so, and you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, then you can adjust the dots per inch (DPI) to make them look better. To do this, follow these steps:
If you set the DPI higher than 96, and you are running Windows Aero (the premium visual experience of Windows Vista), the text and other items on the screen might appear blurry in some programs that are not designed for high–DPI display in this version of Windows. You can avoid this issue by using Windows XP–style DPI scaling for these programs.
For display issues with Windows XP or Server 2003, then you can try setting ClearType and see if it sharpens your fonts and makes them easier to read. To do this, follow this KB article:
Microsoft KB Article 306527: HOW TO: Use ClearType to Enhance Screen Fonts in Windows XP
For display issues with Windows 2000, then check/uncheck "Smooth edges of screen fonts" under the Effects tab in the Display Properties applet.
Data Gathering: In all instances, collecting either MPS Reports with the General, Internet and Networking, Business Networks and Server Components diagnostics, or a Performance-oriented MSDT manifest must be done.