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

 

[fancynancy]

Thanks Shawn - I was able to get onto the temporary account BEFORE I did option one - now whenever I try to log on, I get the error, and can only get into safe mode - where the screen is all squishy. Yesterday afternoon, before I did the renaming thing I could log on with my password, but it would say 'preparing your desktop' and it would be temporary. Can't even get to that point now. Tried doing the system restore from safe mode - that's when I get the message there is no system restore point...create one, and I can't.

If I do a reinstall - will I be able to find / locate files that were on there before, since according to the hard drive space they are still there somewhere?

Is this a Vista problem, or hard drive problem, or both?

Should I even do a reinstall with Vista? Should I wait and upgrade to 7, or downgrade to XP?

I also use Firefox as my primary internet browser - after having the screens of death and browsing for fixes, I've read where Firefox and Vista aren't buddies...your thoughts...

I also had not downloaded anything new on my computer, before it locked up and I just had to hard shut it down. I did have iTunes open, and had just put a burned CD into iTunes, when it locked up...

Again, thanks so much for your help. VERY much appreciated!!

 

[Brink]

Since you are still able to boot into Safe Mode, I would recommend that you back up anything that you did not want to lose first. You may still have the C:\Users\(user-name) folder to copy any files from also. After backing up your data, you can do a clean reinstall of Vista if you like.

If you wanted to try Windows 7 now, you can download the release candidate version if your like or just wait until it the RTM version is out for sale on October 22nd.

I've never had a problem with Firefox, but there are some that had problems with some Firefox add-ons.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[fancynancy]

So, if while logged into safe mode, and the only user file that comes up is my temporary one - does that mean my normal one is completely gone? Or, I'm just not enough of a computer guru to find it...

I may look at the new 7 version - this deal with Vista has just put a big damper on me wanting to continue to run this OS. I mean, for no apparent reason it has just wiped out my user, and seemingly all my files associated with it.

Again, I do appreciate your help and advice!!

 

[Brink]

If the old user account's C:\Users\(user-name) folder is not there, then it is gone.

 

[50nny]

Thanks Shawn... I've restore my computer and... It's works!!!! Nothing to worry about losing my personal doc... Thanks bro for your help... Thanks to the Vista Forums....

 

[Brink]

You're welcome 50nny. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

 

[Foxen63]

so ... i've looked in the registry and found the profiles but nothing has a .bak at the end. I'm in a domain enviroment so the user profiles are created automaticly but Vista isn't creating anything new ... it seems that way at least. The primary user can log on just fine but anyone else just gets the error msg. also ... i'd rather avoid doing a system restore if possible. Thanks for the help in advance

 

[ChelseaBaker]

my profile was NOT deleted by anyone.
it was working fine yesterday
I turned it off. no problem
next morning
"The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded."
yet again i tried the steps.
I am on the guest profile. because my ADMINISTRATIVE profile cannot be loaded.
so i have no authority.
But i DO know my password and such

another step-by-step i tried was to regedit! I couldn't rename the file SID .bk/.bak
how do i change the registry key without deleting my ADMINISTRATIVE profile?

I DO NOT WANT to delete my ADMINISTRATIVE profile.

Will someone. PLEASE help.

 

[Brink]

Hello Chelsea, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You might see if doing STEP ONE to log on to the built-in Administrator account will allow you to do the tutorial instead though.

If not, then you a System Restore using a restore point dated before you got this error may be able to fix it for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[ChelseaBaker]

Shawn,
I tried safe mode. It comes with a black screen (administrative) thingy . i dont know what to type...
I'm super bummed.....
I tried to restore. i even tried to restore from the 27th! still no luck.

and I'm on GUEST. I typed in the admin. password. It's not showing ANYTHING
(i tried changing my account type)
I can't add or remove.. anything.

and it's said my computer has possibly been infected.
i ran my stop sign
it wont let me remove ANY infections unless I'm on the admin...

I need to do something soon.... I'm worried... and my college paper is in my Admin... i don't know what to do Shawn...

 

[Brink]

When you boot into Safe Mode, what exactly does it display? When your only administrator account is disabled, then it will usually boot into the built-in Administrator account by default in Safe Mode.

 

[cincinnatus]

If you wanted to try Windows 7 now, you can download the release candidate version if your like or just wait until it the RTM version is out for sale on October 22nd.

Just so you are aware, this problem happens to people with Windows 7. So if you have this problem in Vista, expect to see it pop up on you with Windows 7. This is on the RC, so apparently it will still be a problem when they release to manufacturing later this month.

I actually never had this problem with Vista. I'm betting that the number of people with this problem will go up sharply with Windows 7 as it seems more testers are reporting the problem now.

 

[Wytze]

Dear Shawn,
I could fix my Vista PC with your description - Thanks!
However, I would appreciate any advice on a second PC which developed the same problem, but cannot be fixed using your script. Any suggestions is welcome!

Here is some more information:

• Vista Home Premium 32
• The problem occurred when I wanted to create a new account on that PC:
  • I could create the account as per normal
  • Logging on to that new account triggers the error message
  • There are no c:\user\xxx files for that new account (believe these are only created after a first logon to that account - which would explain)
• Using regedit to explore the path you specify, I can see 4 "S-1-5" entries, which based on the ProfileImagePath key seem linked to:
  • Systemprofile
  • LocalService
  • NetworkService
  • Wytze (that's the working account, has the long number)
• None of the above has a .bak extension

As mentioned, any suggestion on how to solve this would be great.

Wytze

 

[Brink]

Hello Wytze, and welcome to Vista Forums.

I'm happy to hear that you got this sorted on the first computer.

You might see if you can create another account to see if it works properly. If not, then you can see if a System Restore using a restore point dated before you created the accounts may be able to fix this for you.

 

[Wytze]

Sorry, forgot to mention that creating a new account merely results in a new log-in icon which has the same error message. Also tried system restore to an early restore point, but this did not solve the problem.

 

[Brink]

Delete the accounts that are giving you this error, then see if running a sfc /scannow command may be able to find and fix any bad system files that may be responsible.

If it is still giving you this error with new accounts, then you may need to do a clean reinstall to fix it.

 

[Wytze]

Tried SFS / Scannow, but it did not report any issues. So, what is left is a clean reinstall. Thanks for your suggestions in any case!
Wytze

 

[Brink]

You're welcome. Sorry that is what seems to be what is left to do.

 

[mangooo]

helllo BRINK
this still does not work for me i tried everything
please HELP

 

[Flavius]

Maybe you have this option "user profile service.." Rob Brooks-Bilson's Blog: Fix for Vista's: The User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded

Try everything from this link-comments also