How to fix 0x80004002 on my asus windows laptop?

Question

When I try to delete some fonts, this error code pops up 0x80004002

Answer 1

Hi Lillian Hester,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand you’re encountering error 0x80004002 when trying to delete certain fonts on your Windows 10 Home ASUS laptop.

Please make sure you already tried the Q&A Assist steps. In addition, please help clarify the following so I can narrow this down further:

1. Does the error occur for all fonts or only specific ones you installed manually?
2. Are you signed in with an administrator account on this PC?

In the meantime, you can try these steps:

1, Close any apps that might be using fonts

• Fully close apps like Word, browsers, design tools, or messaging apps
• Restart the PC and try deleting the font again before opening any apps

2, Reinstall the font, then uninstall it

• Right‑click the font file and choose Install
• Restart the PC
• Go back to Fonts and try Uninstall again

3, Try deleting the font in Safe Mode

• Restart the PC while holding Shift and select Restart
• Choose Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Startup Settings, then Restart
• Select Safe Mode and try deleting the font

4, Check if the font is installed per user only

• Open File Explorer
• Go to C:\Users\your‑username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts
• If the font exists there, delete it and restart

5, Repair system files

• Open Start, search for Command Prompt
• Right‑click it and select Run as administrator
• Run sfc /scannow and wait for completion
• Restart the PC after it finishes

6, Leave system‑protected fonts installed

• If the font cannot be removed after these steps, Windows may require it for the interface
• Keeping it installed helps avoid display or stability issues

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Answer 2

Hello,

Error 0x80004002 in Windows 10 often appears when the font is protected by the system or when File Explorer has a temporary issue. For built in system fonts cannot be removed because Windows needs them to run properly.

To check, go to Settings, Personalization, Fonts, select the font, and see if the Uninstall option is available. If Uninstall is grayed out, Windows does not allow removal. If the font was manually installed, open Settings, Apps, Apps and features, find the font, and select Uninstall from there.

If the issue continues, restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager and try again, let me know if that works.

Answer 3

Error 0x80004002 (“No such interface supported”) when deleting fonts usually indicates that Windows is blocking changes to protected or cached font files.

Try these steps in order:

1. Delete the font from the Fonts folder
   1. Press Windows key + R, type control fonts, and press Enter.
   2. In the Fonts window, find the font that fails to delete.
   3. Right‑click it and select Delete.
   4. If prompted for admin permission, approve it.
2. Clear the font cache (Windows 10)
   1. Close all apps.
   2. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32.
   3. Find and delete FNTCACHE.DAT.
   4. Restart the PC; Windows will rebuild the font cache.
3. If the font is installed as a shortcut Fonts installed using “Install as shortcut” can behave incorrectly if the cache is damaged. After clearing the font cache as above, try deleting the font again from Control Panel → Fonts.
4. If the font is system‑protected Some fonts are marked as system‑protected and cannot be updated or removed directly. In that case, leave them in place; Windows uses them for the UI. Attempting to force removal can cause display or startup issues.
5. If the error persists only for one or two fonts The registry entries for those fonts may be corrupted. Because incorrect registry edits can cause serious problems, back up the registry first, then:
   1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit, press Enter.
   2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts.
   3. Locate the entries for the problematic font files (for example, meiryo.ttc or similar if that’s the font).
   4. Note the string value, delete the entry, then recreate it with the same name and correct file value.
   5. On 64‑bit systems, repeat under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts.
   6. Restart the PC and try deleting the font again from Control Panel → Fonts.

If the font is part of Windows and system‑protected, or if deleting it continues to cause errors, it is safer to leave it installed.

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References:

• Some font files that are marked as system-protected cannot be updated in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008
• Fonts installed by using “Install as shortcut” are missing after a system restart in Windows 10 Creators Update
• The Meiryo UI font is available for Windows Vista and for Windows Server 2008