If you have defined the process named Usermode Font Driver Host as a cause of your PC running slowly, or you just discovered this process, and you want to know what it is, you’re at the right place. In this article, we will unriddle the process and explain its purpose. We will also find out whether Usermode Font Driver Host is malware.

What is Usermode Font Driver Host?

Usermoder Font Driver Host is a Windows system process that deals with fonts, as it is clear from its title. The process runs on Windows systems with administrative privileges, making such an enjoyable and taken-for-granted thing as the variety of fonts in Windows possible. Although it might seem like an easy task to render needed fonts in needed places, the process is, in fact, pretty complicated. Usermode Font Driver Host is, putting it simply, the fonts driver, a program Windows needs for fonts management, as well as it uses other drivers to operate the hardware.

Usermode Font Driver Host launches with the fontdrvhost.exe file. It is a legal Windows file, foreseeingly marked with a Microsoft Windows digital signature. We will further show, how to check whether the file has this signature and a respective certificate.

CONSIDER READING: Microsoft Defender: is it good or bad?

Possible problems

As users report (in this Reddit thread, for example,) fontdrvhost.exe can consume a significant amount of system resources at times. Although this indicates something is wrong, it is unlikely that Usermode Font Driver Host is malware. Usermode Font Driver Host is a root process, and we recommend you not to shut it down.

Consider reading our summary article on the probable causes of PC running slow. However, if you notice that it is fontdrvhost.exe exactly that causes performance issues, the problem behind it could be a corrupted font or a problem with fonts cache.

You might want to try clearing the fonts cache. Follow these instructions to do it:

• Press Win+R and input services.msc in the text field. Press Enter.
• The list of Windows services will appear. Find Windows Font Cache Service in the list, right-click it and select Stop.

• Press Win+E and Windows Explorer will open. Now you have to get here:
  
  C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache
  Be advised! Some of the folders on this path require the administrator’s clearance to access, and some are hidden. Therefore, you might need to paste each subsequent directory to the address line, confirming your intention to access certain folders as administrator.
• As you get to the needed folder (FontCache), delete all the objects in this directory and delete them.
• After that, go to C:\Windows\System32 folder and find the FNTCACHE.DAT file. Delete it.
• Restart your PC. Windows will create the font cache anew, without any problems it could have previously caused.

CAUTION: Be very careful while performing these actions. Don’t make a mistake, especially when editing/removing files in system folders.