Compatibility with non-unicode characters?

I have just installed Windows 7 on a new laptop. On my old laptop (Windows XP) I often downloaded files which are in Japanese or Korean. When I download the files on this new latop, the foreign characters are distorted into random letters and symbols.

How can I download files and retain their original non-unicode characters?

I do not want to change the language of the computer, I would like to keep it in English. I can change the keyboard to support Japanese, and type with no issues and the characters show. On the web browser the Japanese or Korean shows up fine. The problem only exists when I download files.

Just wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem, and if it is possible to fix.

Raeka said:

I have just installed Windows 7 on a new laptop. On my old laptop (Windows XP) I often downloaded files which are in Japanese or Korean. When I download the files on this new latop, the foreign characters are distorted into random letters and symbols.

How can I download files and retain their original non-unicode characters?

I do not want to change the language of the computer, I would like to keep it in English. I can change the keyboard to support Japanese, and type with no issues and the characters show. On the web browser the Japanese or Korean shows up fine. The problem only exists when I download files.

Just wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem, and if it is possible to fix.

Not sure but see if this leads anywhere.

> Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Fonts > Fonts Settings

Deselect "Hide fonts based on language settings"

Return back one screen and see if the font set for the desired language is available.

Regards,
GEWB

In addition to what GEWB has suggested, take a look at the software you use to open those files. Sometimes such software needs to be directed to use the appropriate character encoding. In a browser you can easily change the encoding. Word on the other hand should deal with the language automatically, as long as the appropriate fonts are installed. However, there is still a set of options in Microsoft Office regarding the languages used for editing. Maybe you need to manually select Japanese and Korean there.

Also the font of the document should match one of the fonts on your system. In Microsoft office when you save the document you have an option to embed the fonts. If that was done, you should be able to read the document on any machine. Otherwise, the missing font will be automatically substituted for something else and the results may not be ideal. Thus you may want to check that the actual font used in the document you are trying to read is present on your system.