Windows 10 All alt codes and accentuated characters replaced by �

Since this morning, all alt codes I type in (like alt 256, alt 26, alt 144, ...), are replaced by the "�" character. It also happens sometimes in Windows with accentuated characters (like é à ï ...). I.E when I tried to uninstall/install some programs, I could have such issues from one prompt window to another :

And funny enough: it's not 100% reproducible. If I try to get back the window from the screenshot, I might have it displaying correctly, or not. And some other displayed correctly before would display some � the next time. Kind of randomly.

No idea where this comes from. I'm not the owner of that computer, nor the only one using it (it's a school's computer). I have admin rights though. Any idea how to fix that?

Solution 1:

I found the solution by wondering around the system settings. x)

I'll explain the procedure here (my computer is in french but I'll translate, and you can rely on the icons too).

Requirements :

• administrative rights
• reboot at the end to apply the changes

1. Open the Control Panel (for that you can type it in your start menu) :

2. Go to Clock and Region

3. Go to Region (in Windows 7, it might be Region and Language instead)

4. In the Administration pannel, hit the Change system locale button.

5. Uncheck the option « Beta: use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support. »

6. Hit Ok, and restart as asked.