On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you may experience slow performance in applications that use the DirectWrite API (for example, Windows Internet Explorer 9). Performance traces show that each application is loading all the available fonts instead of relying on the FontCache service to render the fonts.
This issue occurs because the DirectWrite API starts to read font information directly from the font files and caches them directly if the FontCache service takes too long to respond.
For more information about the DirectWrite API, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website:
Important After you install KB2505438, applications that render text by using DirectWrite may encounter errors, including application crashes. This is because the hotfix package does not contain an updated version of another driver. The hotfix package that is described in KB2454826 contains the updated version of this driver.
To resolve this issue, install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or KB2454826 on the computer. For more information about how to install KB2454826, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
Prerequisites
To apply this update, you must be running one of the following operating systems:
Windows 7
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
For more information about how to obtain a Windows 7 or a Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2
Registry information
To use the update in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.
Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this update.
Update replacement information
This update does not replace a previously released update.
File information
The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 file information notes
The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:
Collapse this tableExpand this table
Version
Product
Milestone
Service branch
6.1.760
0.16xxx
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
RTM
GDR
6.1.760
0.20xxx
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
RTM
LDR
6.1.760
1.17xxx
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1
GDR
6.1.760
1.21xxx
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1
LDR
GDR service branches contain only those fixes that are widely released to address widespread, extremely important issues. LDR service branches contain hotfixes in addition to widely released fixes.
The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 R2 and for Windows 7" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.
For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7
Collapse this tableExpand this table
File name
File version
File size
Date
Time
Platform
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.16763
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.20905
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.17563
739,840
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.21664
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:21
x86
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.16763
802,304
19-Feb-2011
05:33
x86
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.20905
805,376
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.17563
805,376
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.21664
805,376
19-Feb-2011
05:22
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,074,176
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.17563
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.21664
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:22
x86
For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2
Collapse this tableExpand this table
File name
File version
File size
Date
Time
Platform
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.16763
902,656
19-Feb-2011
06:36
x64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.20905
902,656
19-Feb-2011
06:42
x64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.17563
902,656
19-Feb-2011
12:04
x64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.21664
902,656
19-Feb-2011
06:14
x64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,135,104
19-Feb-2011
06:37
x64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,139,200
19-Feb-2011
06:43
x64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.17563
1,139,200
19-Feb-2011
12:05
x64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.21664
1,139,200
19-Feb-2011
06:15
x64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,540,608
19-Feb-2011
06:37
x64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,544,192
19-Feb-2011
06:42
x64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.17563
1,544,192
19-Feb-2011
12:04
x64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.21664
1,544,192
19-Feb-2011
06:15
x64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.16763
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.20905
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.17563
739,840
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7601.21664
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:21
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,074,176
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.17563
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.21664
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:22
x86
For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2
Collapse this tableExpand this table
File name
File version
File size
Date
Time
Platform
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,880,576
19-Feb-2011
05:20
IA-64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,880,576
19-Feb-2011
05:13
IA-64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.16763
2,280,960
19-Feb-2011
05:21
IA-64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7600.20905
2,291,200
19-Feb-2011
05:14
IA-64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.17563
2,290,688
19-Feb-2011
05:57
IA-64
Fntcache.dll
6.1.7601.21664
2,291,200
19-Feb-2011
05:15
IA-64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.16763
2,999,808
19-Feb-2011
05:20
IA-64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.20905
3,009,536
19-Feb-2011
05:14
IA-64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.17563
3,009,536
19-Feb-2011
05:57
IA-64
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.21664
3,009,536
19-Feb-2011
05:15
IA-64
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.16763
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
D2d1.dll
6.1.7600.20905
739,840
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.16763
1,074,176
19-Feb-2011
05:32
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7600.20905
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:56
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.17563
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
06:30
x86
Dwrite.dll
6.1.7601.21664
1,076,736
19-Feb-2011
05:22
x86
For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates
The FontCache service manages a system cache and a per-user cache for each user on the computer. When the computer restarts, the DirectWrite API waits for two seconds while the FontCache service loads the system cache. Typically, the system cache has a size of 400 to 600 kilobytes (KB). When a client process loads the DirectWrite API for the first time, the DirectWrite API waits for a half second while the FontCache service loads a per-user cache.
If a client application that applies the DirectWrite API (for example, Internet Explorer 9) starts immediately after the computer starts, either of the timeouts may expire because Windows is performing many other competing I/O operations. For example, the FontCache service takes 30 seconds to load the per-user cache when Internet Explorer 9 starts. In this situation, the DirectWrite API reads the fonts directly, without access to the shared font cache. This slows down the initial start process of Internet Explorer 9. Additionally, the working set for Internet Explorer 9 is highly increased because the DirectWrite API caches the fonts in the memory space of the Iexplorer.exe processes.
Additional file information
Additional file information for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2
Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7
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