Windows fonts that shouldn't be deleted

Windows usually come with a lot of fonts to help you stylize your documents. Some of the fonts are pretty and nice while some others are just simply horrible. Nobody actually uses all these fonts. And if you install some graphics or publishing software like those from Corel and Adobe, they install some more fonts of their own. So when you are editing a document and desire to change the font you will find yourself scrolling through hundreds of fonts which is both tedious and annoying. Apart from that, the more the fonts you have on your system the more is the time required for Windows to startup. So it's always advisable to limit the number of fonts installed on your system.

How do I remove fonts?

Removing fonts is easy. Open Windows/fonts directory and just delete the fonts you don't require just the way you delete a file. Even though this method seems easy and the most straightforward way to delete fonts, I would suggest you to use a software called Font Frenzy. This software allows you to view the font before deleting it and also restore deleted fonts if you happen to want it back. It's a very effective way of managing your font collection.

Can I delete any fonts I want?

Not really. There are some fonts which are essential to your operating system and specific software programs. Do not delete the following fonts:

Arial (TrueType)
Arial Bold (TrueType)
Arial Bold Italic (TrueType)
Arial Italic (TrueType)
Courier 10,12,15 (VGA res)
Courier New (TrueType)
Courier New Bold (TrueType)
Courier New Bold Italic (TrueType)
Courier New Italic (TrueType)
Marlett (Windows 95/98) *
Modern (Plotter)
MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
Roman (Plotter)
Script (Plotter)
Small fonts (VGA res)
Symbol (TrueType)
Symbol 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
Times New Roman (TrueType) -
Times New Roman Bold (TrueType)
Times New Roman Bold Italic (TrueType)
Times New Roman Italic (TrueType)
Wingdings (TrueType)
Any font with a red A for its icon.
Any font that begins with the letters MS.

*Marlett is a hidden system file and it will not show up in a search, however, it may show up in your program font lists.

Additionally, some programs have fonts that are required for that program to display properly. If you are using these programs, then these fonts should not be deleted too.

CorelDRAW
Avant Garde Book BT (TrueType)
Avant Garde Oblique BT (TrueType)
Avant Garde Medium BT (TrueType)
Avant Garde Medium Oblique BT (TrueType)
CommonBullets (TrueType)
FuturaMedcondBT (Corel's # TT0201M.TTF)

Print Artist
Palisade

Windows Draw
Swiss921 BT
(Also see page 4 of the manual for Windows Draw 6 Print Studio, and page 27 of the manual for Complete Publisher '99 for a list of fonts that must be installed for the text styles and templates to appear properly.)

Creatacard
Swiss721 BT
(Creatacard also has fonts that begin with CAC - these can be removed, however, some of the included projects may not display correctly.)

Internet Web Browsers
Webdings

Office 97 (including Outlook 98)
Tahoma

Quickbooks
Four fonts that all start with "Quicktype"

MS Bookshelf
Three fonts called Bookshelf Symbols 1-3

Picture It
Comic Sans and Comic BD

Intuit TurboTax
These fonts are mandated by the IRS and tax returns using other fonts may not be accepted or delayed. There are 10 of them. (Information provided by Christopher Cheney, TurboTax Technical Support.)
OCR B MT (OCRBMT.TTF)
OCR-A II (OCRA2_P.TTF)
Quicktype II (QT2_P.TTF)
Quicktype II Bold (QT2_B.TTF)
Quicktype II Condensed (QT2C_P.TTF)
Quicktype II Condensed Bold (QT2C_B.TTF)
Quicktype II Condensed Italic (QT2C_I.TTF)
Quicktype II Italic (QT2_I.TTF)
Quicktype II Mono (QT2M_P.TTF)
Quicktype II Pi (QT2PI_P.TTF)

More: Fonts Supplied with Common Products

If you have messed up with your font collection and deleted some essential fonts then read How to Restore the Windows Default Fonts.

Source:
Graphics Software