The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.

How to Fix the Error "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded."​

   Information

When you log on to Vista or Windows 7 using a temporary profile (user account), you receive this error message:

The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.

For more information, see:
Error message when you log on to a Windows Vista-based or Windows 7-based computer by using a temporary profile: "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded"

   Note

CAUSE:

The jury is still out on the exact cause, but so far :

• This issue may occur if the user profile was manually deleted by using the command prompt or Windows Explorer by a user or by some program. A profile that is manually deleted does not remove the security identifier (SID) from the user profile list in the registry. Since the SID is still present, Vista will still try to load the profile by using the ProfileImagePath that points to a nonexistent path. Therefore, the profile cannot be loaded.
• This can also be a issue with the user profile entering into a backup state.
• Manually renaming the C:\Users\(User Name) user profile folder.

   Warning

If you have this error message below instead, then see: How to Fix the Error "Your user profile was not loaded correctly! You have been logged on with a temporary profile." in Vista

Your user profile was not loaded correctly! You have been logged on with a temporary profile.

Changes you make to this profile will be lost when you log off. Please see the event log for details or contact your administrator.

   Tip

If the steps in the tutorial below do not help or you wish to try this first, then:

• You could also try doing a System Restore at boot using a restore point dated before the this error to see if it may be able to fix this.
• If you do not want to repair the user profile, you can delete it and create a new user account in OPTION TWO. If this still does not work for you, then you will be left with doing a clean install for your Upgrade or Full version of Vista or Windows 7.
• Try the option at this link: Rob Brooks-Bilson's Blog: Fix for Vista's: The User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded

STEP ONE

Log on to the Computer

   Warning

You must be logged on to an administrator account using either step 1 or 2 below before you can move on to do either the OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO sections.

1. To Log on to another Administrator account.​

NOTE: If you do not have another Administrator account, then proceed to step 2.​

A) Go to OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO.​

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OR​

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2. To Boot into Safe Mode and Use the built-in Administrator account​

NOTE: You may not need to enable the built-in Administrator account. If this was the only normal administrator account you had, then Safe Mode should automatically boot into the built-in Administrator account.​

   Tip

If you cannot boot into Windows and do not have a Windows installation DVD, then you can create and use the boot disc below to boot into Safe Mode with instead.

   Tip

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Windows 7: (Option Two at link)​

How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc​

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Vista: (Option One at link)​

How to Create a Vista Recovery Disc​

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A) Boot into Safe Mode (in Vista) or Safe Mode (in Windows 7).​

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B) If Safe Mode did not boot into the built-in Administrator account, then enable the built-in Administrator account. If it did, then go to step 2D.​

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C) Log off in Safe Mode, and then log on to the built-in Administrator account to logon with that account in Safe Mode.​

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D) Go to OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO.​

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OPTION ONE

To Fix the User Account Profile

1. Open the Start menu.​

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2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​

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3. If prompted by UAC, either click on Continue (Vista) or Yes (Windows 7).​

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4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below step 5)​

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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

5. In the left pane, look for the S-1-5..... folder (SID key) with the long number that has .bak at the end of the numbers.​

(See screenshots below steps 6A and 7B)​

NOTE:​

A) In the right pane, look at the ProfileImagePath to verify that this is the user account profile that has the error.​

B) You may have another S-1-5..... folder (SID key) above it with the exact same number without the .bak at the end of it.​

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6. If you have Two S-1-5..... folders (SID key) with the same Number​

NOTE: This is if you have two S-1-5..... folders (SID key) with the exact same numbers, but the second (below) one has the .bak at the end of the numbers.​

A) In the left pane, right click on the first (top) S-1-5..... folder (SID key) that does not have .bak at the end of the numbers and click Rename. (See screenshot below)​

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B) Add .bk to the end of the numbers. (See screenshot below)​

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C) In the left pane, right click on the second S-1-5..... folder (SID key) with .bak at the end of the numbers and click Rename. (See screenshot above)​

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D) Remove only .bak from the end of the numbers and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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E) Now go back and Rename the first one with .bk to .bak now at the end of the numbers and press Enter.​

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F) Go to step 8.​

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7. If you have Only One S-1-5..... Folder (SID key) with .bak​

NOTE: This is if you only have one S-1-5..... folder (SID key) for your user account with .bak at the end of the numbers.​

A) In the left pane, right click on the S-1-5..... folder (SID key) with .bak at the end of the numbers and click Rename. (See screenshot below)​

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B) Remove only .bak at the end of the numbers and press Enter. (See screenshot below and below step 10)​

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8. In the right pane of the one without .bak now, right click on RefCount and click on Modify. (See screenshot below step 10)​

NOTE: If you do not have RefCount, then right click on a empty space in the right pane and click New and DWORD (32 bit) Value, then type RefCount and press Enter. This value for this entry will reset and return back to the original value after you have restarted the computer and logged on to the account.​

A) Type 0 (number) and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​

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9. In the right pane of the one without .bak now, right click on State and click on Modify. (See screenshot below step 10)​

NOTE: This value for this entry will reset and return back to the original value after you have restarted the computer and logged on to the account.​

A) Type 0 (number) and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​

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10. The registry will now look like this for the one without .bak now. (See screenshot below)​

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11. Close regedit.​

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12. Restart the computer.​

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13. See if you can logon now.​

NOTE: If this still does not help, then either try OPTION TWO below or see the yellow TIP box at the top of the tutorial.​

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OPTION TWO

To Delete the User Account and Create Another One

   Warning

You can do this option if you do not care about losing the user account and the contents in the user folders. Your programs will still be installed, but you will need to create new shortcuts for them afterwards.

1. Delete the User account profile that this error is for.​

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2. Open the Start menu.​

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3. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​

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4. If prompted by UAC, click on Continue (Vista) or Yes (Windows 7).​

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5. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below step 7)​

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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

6. In the left pane, click on one of the S-1-5..... folders (SID key) with the long number in it.​

NOTE: It may have .bak at the end of it.​

A) In the right pane, look at the ProfileImagePath to see if this is the same user account that you deleted in step 1 above.​

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B) Repeat step 6 until you find the one that you deleted in step 1 above.​

NOTE: If the user account is not here, then it has already been removed when deleted in step 1. Go to step 9.​

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7. To Backup the Registry SID Key​

WARNING: You should backup this SID key to be safe in case you delete the wrong one in step 8 below.​

A) Right click on the SID key, and click on Export.​

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B) Type in a name and save the REG file to a safe location.​

NOTE: This is your backup. To Restore the Backup, right click on the REG backup file and click on Merge.​

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C) Continue on to step 8.​

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8. To Delete the Registry SID Key​

A) Right click on the SID key, and click on Delete. (See screenshot above)​

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B) Click on Yes to confirm deletion. (See screenshot below)​

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9. Close regedit.​

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10. Now, just create a new normal Administrator account.​

NOTE: See: How to Create a New User Account in Vista​

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11. Restart the computer, and log on to your new account.​

NOTE: If this still does not help, then either try OPTION ONE above or see the yellow TIP box at the top of the tutorial.​

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How To Perform a Repair Installation For Vista
• How to Do a System Restore in Vista
• How to Do a Startup Repair in Vista
• How to Do a Clean Install of Vista with a Upgrade Version
• How to Do a Clean Install with a Full Version of Vista
• How to Fix the Error "Your user profile was not loaded correctly! You have been logged on with a temporary profile."
• How to Change the User Folder Name of a User Profile in Windows 7
• How to Fix Windows 7 Logon Screen Showing Only "Other User" and Last Logged On User Icon

 

[Brink]

Hello Simonsuncm, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You might see if doing a System Restore using a restore point dated before you received the error may be able to fix it for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[kevinfan1987]

thx very much~ i hv already solved my problem~ it really does work i appreciate ur help!:D
but i wanna know how this problem happen?~

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Kevin, and welcome to Vista Forums.

The NOTE box at the top of the tutorial are the usual reasons for this error.

Shawn

 

[grunt]

I'm having a similar problem to Styggiti. Dad bought a new computer and got me to set it up so i set it up with four admin accounts (vista home premium sp1 btw). My little brother logged in not long after i was done setting it up and everything was peachy. long story short, the next person who tried to log in did so after an update and so was met with the error message in question. my problem is with the two accounts which the os has yet to see an initial login. i paid a visit to regedit and found two keys which had no '.bak' in them, one for me and one for my brother. when i followed the link styggiti provided i found that that wasn't my problem either (the default user folder didn't have the 'c:\users\default\AppData\Local\Application Data' or the 'C:\users\default\Local Settings\Application Data' folders). deleting the problem accounts doesn't solve the problem.



is there anything other than a full system reinstall that i can try?

 

[Brink]

Hello Grunt, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You can try a System Restore using a restore point dated before this problem to see if it can fix it to prevent from having to reinstall.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[stressming]

Thanks for all the detail instructions and I was the one without any system restore point. So I have to change the reg using the regedit. Thanks again Shawn, it works and I have my profile back! You could not believe how I appreciate your effort for putting those screen shot on line.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Streeming. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

Shawn

 

[grunt]

ok, so i've tried a system restore and the problem is still here. my system update history looks like this:

so what now? is a reinstall my only option? also, even if a restore worked for me, wouldn't the problem have returned if windows updated again? i've turned off the updates for now.

 

[Brink]

Grunt,

If you can setup a new administrator account that works, then you can just delete the others that are bad from within it. If not, then a reinstall may be needed.

 

[grunt]

i have deleted and recreated them many times over. i guess i'll have to do it. but one question:
what's being done about this? i see that it's been a problem for over a year now and the initial post still states that the reason for this bug is still not apparent. what's stopping this bug from reappearing after i reinstall? should i not trust microsoft updates and leave my computer vulnerable?

 

[Brink]

Grunt,

I would always recommend installing the Windows Updates to keep your computer up to date and more secure. If you have a lot at once, you might only install a few at a time to avoid potential conflicts. I would not use any driver updates from Windows Updates though. Instead you should get this directly from the manufacturer's website.

 

[grunt]

you haven't answered my question about what's being done though. does everyone with a copy of vista have the potential to run into this problem? I don't mean to sound like a disgruntled customer wanting his money back, but after having only used vista for 2 weeks, i'm forced to reinstall the whole OS. that's the thing about first impressions, you only get to make one. think i might just revert back to xp. it's by no means flawless, but at least i know how to work it. Thanks Brink.

 

[Brink]

Grunt,

Unfortunately that is a question that only Microsoft can answer. My guess is that the answer will be Windows 7.

I would recommend to keep good backups and restore points to make fixing this easy if need be again.

Sorry,
Shawn

 

[grunt]

but i've tried restoring my computer and it didn't work, even i restored it to year zero it didn't work. don't worry about me shawn, you probably won't have to see me again, going back to xp.

grunt.

 

[Brink]

Grunt, this is not a common error to get unless something is corrupting the user profile. Hopefully a clean reinstall of Vista should resolve this for you if you wanted to try it before going back to XP.

 

[hdbg62]

This morning I had occasion to use the GUEST log-in; have not used it in a long time. Sure enough GUEST would not load, giving me the message which is the subject here. However, I only have the problem with GUEST, my only other administrator account works fine.

I have literally spent all the day with this trying what was suggested here in the tutorial and other suggestions obtained from the web, all to no avail.

I do not have anything in my profile list in the registry which ends in .back but I have not renamed anything either, just changed REF and STAT values to 0. Did a system restore which did not help but that is moot since I don't know when the problem started; also did a STARTUP repair.

I've read a lot about why not to use GUEST and that is all good and fine but the point is that it came with system, worked fine for a while anyway but now it does not and nothing other than a clean install
seems to be the cure; to me that's ridiculous. While I'm running HOME PREMIUM on my PC, it works just fine on my laptop with ULTIMATE.

 

[Brink]

Hi Hdbg62,

I suppose that you can try a Repair (upgrade) install to see if that can fix it for you other than a clean install.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[hdbg62]

Forgot to mention that I can't even log on with a new standard user account which I created.

 

[hdbg62]

Well, I can't do the upgrade to the ULTIMATE, only a clean install; "YOU CANNOT UPGRADE FROM A STAGED BUILD TO A NON-STAGED BUILD." Both HOME PREMIUM AND ULTIMATE are SP1. The ULTIMATE which I installed on my laptop would do an upgrade on the PC and even though I got a couple of spare keys, don't know what can of worms I'd be opening by doing that. Neither can I create any new standard or administrative users which are able to log on; even the built-in Administrator is logged in only with the default profile, as for myself, the only other administrator account, I can log in just fine. However, just one account makes me nervous as a wet hen, what if there is another problem popping up and destroying this account? To put it mildly, I think it's absolutely ridiculously for this problem not to have a cure other than a re-install.

 

[Brink]

I agree hdbg62, but with the unknown source of the corruption, it may be best to reinstall to avoid a chance of it crashing completely leaving you with no easy way to recover your files.