Fix MSSIPOTF_E_NOHEADTABLE (0X80097003) error in Windows
This error pops up when you install or open a font file with a missing head table. It usually happens with corrupted fonts or incomplete downloads.
When this error shows up
You see MSSIPOTF_E_NOHEADTABLE (0X80097003) in one of two places:
- You double-click a .otf or .ttf font file to preview or install it, and Windows spits out this error instead.
- You try to install a batch of fonts through the Control Panel or Settings app, and the process stops on a specific file.
I've seen it most often with fonts downloaded from free font sites — the kind where the ZIP file got cut off mid-download or the upload itself was incomplete. It also happens if someone emailed you a font file and the attachment got corrupted in transit.
What's really happening?
Every proper OpenType or TrueType font file has a compulsory table called the head table. This table stores basic metadata: the font version, the units per em, the bounding box coordinates. Without it, Windows can't even figure out what kind of font this is. Think of it as the font's ID card — without it, the OS treats the file as invalid.
The error code 0X80097003 translates to "The file does not contain a head table." That's it. The file is either incomplete or was never a real font file to begin with. There's no way to "repair" the head table because the file itself is missing that chunk of data.
Fix it in four steps
- Delete the bad font file. Locate it in File Explorer (usually in Downloads or your Desktop). Right-click and pick Delete. Don't keep it — it's broken.
- Download the font again from a reputable source. Stick to foundries like Google Fonts, Font Squirrel, or the font creator's official site. Avoid the dodgy free-font aggregators that serve up re-encoded or truncated files.
- Verify the download wasn't interrupted. Check the file size. A .otf font for a standard weight is usually 50KB–200KB. If it's under 10KB, the download failed. Right-click the file, choose Properties, and look at the Size field. If it's suspiciously small, download again.
- Install the fresh font. Right-click the new .otf or .ttf file and select "Install" (or double-click it and click the Install button in the preview window).
If it still fails
Try these in order:
- Run the font troubleshooter. In Windows 10 and 11, go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters > Font troubleshooter. It won't fix a broken file, but it clears up any weird font cache corruption that might interfere.
- Clear the font cache. Open Services (services.msc), stop the Windows Font Cache Service, delete everything in
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache, then restart the service. Then try installing again. - Check for antivirus overreach. Some aggressive antivirus tools quarantine parts of font files during download. Temporarily disable real-time protection, download the font fresh from a trusted source, and install it. If it works, add an exception for that font site.
- Use a different font. Honestly, if the same font from the same creator consistently gives you this error, the original file on their server might be corrupted. Try a different weight or variant, or reach out to the font designer and let them know.
I've been fixing this error since Windows 7, and I've never seen a case where the font itself wasn't simply broken. Don't waste time trying to hack the file back together — grab a clean copy and move on.
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