Solved Win11 24H2 Not remembering changes to fonts after reboot

Another bug?

I am on 150% Scaling.

I have changed (using WinAero Tweaker) the following font sizes (not the actual font).
Icon 13 Bold
Menus 12 Regular
Messages 12 Regular
Windows Title Bar 12 Regular

However, after every reboot these revert to the default settings.

Is there another way to change these so they stay put?

TIA.

Hi

Maybe this could help you? I’m not sure.

Possibly remove the tweak settings in Winaero first.

Yes, I have seen that thread.

I have tried using the slider, useless!

However, if anyone could give me the settings for these I would be grateful:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
Caption Font
Icon Font
Message Font
Menu Font
They are all gobbledegook in the registry, so if anyone know how to put the settings for these as follows:
Caption Font - 12
Icon Font - 13 Bold
Message Font - 12
Menu Font - 12

For example, the Value Data for Icon font is as the attached screenshot.

Hi lafargeotte,

I think I may have found a solution for this.
I use Winaero tweaker to set a custom Title Bar font. After updating my PC to 24H2, I too noticed that the font changes would revert after a reboot. To keep your custom fonts, do the following:

1. Set your custom fonts with Winaero tweaker
2. Open Registry Editor
3. Navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics"
4. Right click on the WindowMetrics key and select Permissions
5. Disable Full Control on all Groups/User Accounts that have it. Everyone should have only Read access.

I think you only need to remove Full Control on your own account, but I would remove it on all principals just in case. Try this out and let me know if it works.

Here's a screenshot of my Advanced Security Settings for the WindowMetrics key:

Safer bet would be to export the reg keys after making desired changes and creating a batch to import them and schedule it to run at logon

This is the kind of elementary bug which makes me wary of upgrading to 24H2 for a while until MS fixes them

dacrone said:

Safer bet would be to export the reg keys after making desired changes and creating a batch to import them and schedule it to run at logon

Click to expand...

I actually tried that first. I used Task Scheduler to run a batch file with a custom WindowMetrics.reg file I exported. When I scheduled the task to run at startup, the changes would not be made. When I scheduled it to run at logon, the changes would be made in the registry, but they wouldn’t be applied until you signed out and signed back in again. I think Windows is purposefully setting the WindowMetrics key back to its original values very early in the login process (at least upon the first login after a reboot). If I recall correctly, there was an update for Windows 11 that attempted to mitigate changes made to default fonts in WindowMetrics. Microsoft stated something about font changes breaking things in the OS… though I’ve never had issues myself using custom fonts

TenthDimension said:

Hi lafargeotte,

I think I may have found a solution for this.
I use Winaero tweaker to set a custom Title Bar font. After updating my PC to 24H2, I too noticed that the font changes would revert after a reboot. To keep your custom fonts, do the following:

1. Set your custom fonts with Winaero tweaker
2. Open Registry Editor
3. Navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics"
4. Right click on the WindowMetrics key and select Permissions
5. Disable Full Control on all Groups/User Accounts that have it. Everyone should have only Read access.

I think you only need to remove Full Control on your own account, but I would remove it on all principals just in case. Try this out and let me know if it works.

Here's a screenshot of my Advanced Security Settings for the WindowMetrics key:
View attachment 111123

Click to expand...

Hi,
This looks good, but I cannot seem to change the entries, they are all greyed out, and not selectable.
How do I do that please?

lafargeotte said:

Hi,
This looks good, but I cannot seem to change the entries, they are all greyed out, and not selectable.
How do I do that please?

Click to expand...

Ok, if you are in the Permissions window for WindowMetrics, click on the "Advanced" button on the bottom. In the "Advanced Security Settings" window that pops up, click the button at the bottom that says "Disable inheritance". A window will popup asking what you would like to do with the current inherited permissions. Select "Convert inherited permissions into explicit permissions on this object".

Once that's done, look for the Owner: setting at the top of Advanced Security Settings, and click "Change". Type your username and select OK to make yourself the owner. Click OK on Advanced Security Settings, and then go back to the Permissions window. You should be able to modify permissions now.

I must point out that there are risks involved with changing all these security settings. I did all this on my home computer, and my custom Title Bar font stays the same upon reboot with 24H2 installed. So far I haven't noticed any problems. It's a good idea to create a System Restore point before modifying the permissions.

TenthDimension said:

I must point out that there are risks involved with changing all these security settings

Click to expand...

exactly why i wouldnt be proposing that. just add restart explorer to your batch following the reg imports. that should apply it immediately and you really wont even notice it if just logging in

dacrone said:

exactly why i wouldnt be proposing that. just add restart explorer to your batch following the reg imports. that should apply it immediately and you really wont even notice it if just logging in

Click to expand...

I'll try that when I get the chance, but I don't think restarting explorer is enough. I did restart explorer after changing the values in the registry, and it did not update the title bar font until I logged out and logged back in. Maybe if I add restart explorer to the batch and have it run at log in it will work...

Here's a link regarding modifying WindowMetrics from the Winaero website. Note that the author states that you must "sign out and sign in again to your user account to apply the changes." Change Title Bar Text Size in Windows 10 Creators Update

TenthDimension said:

Ok, if you are in the Permissions window for WindowMetrics, click on the "Advanced" button on the bottom. In the "Advanced Security Settings" window that pops up, click the button at the bottom that says "Disable inheritance". A window will popup asking what you would like to do with the current inherited permissions. Select "Convert inherited permissions into explicit permissions on this object".

Once that's done, look for the Owner: setting at the top of Advanced Security Settings, and click "Change". Type your username and select OK to make yourself the owner. Click OK on Advanced Security Settings, and then go back to the Permissions window. You should be able to modify permissions now.

I must point out that there are risks involved with changing all these security settings. I did all this on my home computer, and my custom Title Bar font stays the same upon reboot with 24H2 installed. So far I haven't noticed any problems. It's a good idea to create a System Restore point before modifying the permissions.

Click to expand...

Great, thanks.

It seems to work for me too, following reboot, all remains as it should (for me).
I will see how it goes over the weekend, and report back.

I always create images, so no worries there.

just sayin. but whatever works for you. you could also set the scheduled task to "run whether logged in or not" check Highest Privileges and change the user to SYSTEM

lafargeotte said:

Great, thanks.

It seems to work for me too, following reboot, all remains as it should (for me).
I will see how it goes over the weekend, and report back.

I always create images, so no worries there.

Click to expand...

Sounds good. I noticed that Winaero tweaker throws an error message whenever you try to modify anything related to the WindowMetrics key, after making these permissions changes. You probably need to give yourself back Full Control in order for it to work properly again (I'll test this out later).

It seems Microsoft is doubling down on users who make modifications to the Windows interface. I wouldn't be surprised if a future Windows update blocks this method of changing the fonts.

For this problem I installed 24H2 onto the 23H2 I have running in my VirtualBox (VB) environment.

Reason: I would not want to switch to 24H2, not even the official upgrade via the settings, if the WindowMetrics are not followed at systemstart.
I always adjust those WindowsMetrics by the small program WinTools advchange.exe version 1.2.0.37 (a somewhat older version I like more than the newer ones). In that program I can easily change the scrollbar size and the desktop icon distances as well.

So after some time (longer than it normally takes, because of restricted processor capacity of the VB) the upgrade was ready, all ended well. After installation the version of the installed 24H2 system appeared to be 26100.1742.

All sizes after restart were as usual, distances of icons as well. No problems at all.
For the test I changed the icon text font to a much bigger other font and did a restart: no problem at all, WindowMetrics contents are followed as usual..

After that I looked at this:

TenthDimension said:

1. Set your custom fonts with Winaero tweaker
2. Open Registry Editor
3. Navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics"
4. Right click on the WindowMetrics key and select Permissions
5. Disable Full Control on all Groups/User Accounts that have it. Everyone should have only Read access.

Click to expand...

It might just have been that permissions already were read-only and that that was the reason it functions on my test system.
But the permissions were normal: Administrator group and the main user (who is administrator) has full access over that key and what's in it!

So in some way I were thinking that there should be an other reason why this does not function of OP (and some other members.
Not a very useful contribution for you to solve a problem, but just wanted to inform you guys about it.

For me, there will be no reason not to upgrade to 24H2 on my main system, as soon as the official update over the normal setup channel is there. Not earlier too...

This is getting weird.

After a reboot the settings stick.
When the computer has been switched off for some time (not tried it for less than an hour) the settings are gone, and have to be redone.

Sorry to hear that. Not sure why your settings won't stick. I just turned my computer on after leaving it off for about 10 hours, and my changes are still saved. I have Fast Startup turned off, not sure if that would make a difference or not. Also, my only font change is the Title Bar font; I haven't changed the font style nor the font size for Icons, Menus, and Messages.

You can try the Task Scheduler method suggested by dacone, but I tried it myself and it does not work. You need to sign out and sign back in in order to get the changes to show up after making changes to the registry; simply restarting Explorer does not work. Every website that I've visited regarding WindowMetrics modifications states you must sign out to apply the changes.

You can also try using advchange.exe by WinTools as suggested by Kees. The only downside is that application requires payment after 30 days. It's like $20 for a 3 year license.

Check out this forum where a user tried to change the system font, but could not get the changes to stick on the latest version of Windows 11 at the time. Changing Default Windows System font
It's been getting harder and harder to modify system fonts in Windows 11. In 23H2, I had to run a .reg file about every week to change my title bar font, because the change kept reverting. I didn't have to do that when I had 21H2 and 22H2 installed.

TenthDimension said:

Sorry to hear that. Not sure why your settings won't stick. I just turned my computer on after leaving it off for about 10 hours, and my changes are still saved. I have Fast Startup turned off, not sure if that would make a difference or not. Also, my only font change is the Title Bar font; I haven't changed the font style nor the font size for Icons, Menus, and Messages.

You can try the Task Scheduler method suggested by dacone, but I tried it myself and it does not work. You need to sign out and sign back in in order to get the changes to show up after making changes to the registry; simply restarting Explorer does not work. Every website that I've visited regarding WindowMetrics modifications states you must sign out to apply the changes.

You can also try using advchange.exe by WinTools as suggested by Kees. The only downside is that application requires payment after 30 days. It's like $20 for a 3 year license.

Check out this forum where a user tried to change the system font, but could not get the changes to stick on the latest version of Windows 11 at the time. Changing Default Windows System font
It's been getting harder and harder to modify system fonts in Windows 11. In 23H2, I had to run a .reg file about every week to change my title bar font, because the change kept reverting. I didn't have to do that when I had 21H2 and 22H2 installed.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have read that thread.

I will see how it goes tomorrow.

I have found another software (XtraTools Professional), that can change the settings I want in one go (have to sign out and back in), so I will use that instead of Winaero if necessary.

this tool still works as well

TenthDimension said:

The only downside is that application requires payment after 30 days. It's like $20 for a 3 year license.

Click to expand...

I did not realize that the moderner version of Wintools font changer was a tool that you'll have to pay for now.

The version I mentioned still can be downloaded from here:
Advanced System Font Changer v1.2.0.37 @ oldergeeks.com
It's the same as @dacrone mentioned in #19, but as a matter of fact a lot older...

In my opinion that's still the the most userfriendly tool.

But now you have some choice which to use (if you'd like to try it anyway).