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

[HCHTech]

I've got a 5-yr old Dell laptop with Win7 Home 64 on it that is giving this error when you try to log onto the main user account.

There are two accounts, the main one, which is an administrator, and a secondary one that is a limited account.

The computer is setup with both a BIOS password and a Hard Disk password.

Booting into Safe Mode gives the same "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded." error.

I've done a full hardware diagnosis with no errors. I also ran a boot scan with Kaspersky, which found and deleted Conduit but not much else.

Startup repair found no problems.

Normally, I would enable the administrator account, log in and create a new user to copy the data to, but I'm unable to do that. I've booted from a Windows disk, command prompt, and tried to enable the administrator account or create a new user account with the net user command, but while both commands reported success, I can't see either the administrator or the new user account from the regular (or Safe Mode) login screen.

I ran a chkdsk /f from the command prompt after booting from the Windows disk again, and that let me log into the limited user account, but I am unable to open an administrative command prompt which is pretty much required to do anything. It asks for the administrative password, which I enter, but the the command prompt that opens is still limited. I also cannot run an SFC for the same reason. I get some kind of "access denied" message, I'm sorry I didn't write that one down.

I get similar results when I try to install any software from the limited account or create a new user from the limited account. I get the prompt to enter the administrative account password, which I do, but then the program never runs. So I can't run the tweaking.com all-in-one or any install any malware or tools software.

The customer won't pay for a reload, so I want to make sure I'm not missing some clever trick before I call it a day on this one. Clearly there is windows corruption and/or the permissions are scrambled, but I can't seem to make any progress & I've already spent the hour they authorized.

 

[MichaelBits]

When in safe mode, go into the registry and rename the profile in the profile list.

You will find two identical ones, one will be labeled .bak
It was corrupted, rename current one (to like .old) and remove the .bak from the backup, and reboot.

Google it if you don't know where in the registry to look.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/1...-failed-logon-user-profile-cannot-loaded.html

Google is your friend. It seems like I've dealt with this before. I think you can boot into safe mode without even loading the admin account as they say to do. But even if you have to, the main part you need is where it says fix the profile. Basically you are going to go to

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

under regedit. As their graphic shows you should have 2 keys there that are the same, with the exact names, except one will likely have the .bak extension on it. You want to go to the the key that does not have the .bak extension on it, and label that one something else, like leave the file the same, just change it to something, like .bk or what not. You then remove the .bak extension from the other key that was the same but had the .bak extension. They recommend changing your .bk extension to .bk. I don't think I ever do personally. But usually after that and a reboot all is well.

Those steps are for vista I think but should work on windows 7. I've used them a couple of times.

 

[HCHTech]

Right. I knew there was something in the back of my head about that, but my memory is quickly failing. Into Evernote it goes. Thanks guys!

 

[anti]

The last two times I've done this the problem came back two weeks later.

 

[mrapoc]

After the registry fix...I bet the system has avg free installed (9in10) ... Remove that junk. I've only ever seen it happen to bitdefender and avast free once. About 200 other times it was avg causing it. Remove using avg removal tool. Amiright?

 

[cyabro]

Yup I think every time we've seen this issue the machine has had avg on it.

 

[JustInspired]

Yup I think every time we've seen this issue the machine has had avg on it.

Hmm. I was thinking this was a bit of a pattern but didn't want to blame AVG until we'd seen more of them. In truth, the ones I've seen over the last six months or so have all had AVG on them too.

 

[PCSupportGlasgow]

will add another +1 to AVG free on them.
Also has become more common over last couple of months. Used to see once in a blue moon but had about 6-7 last month or two.

 

[mrapoc]

Another reason to scrap it

Along with toolbars etc.

But yeh soon as someone describes it to me the next question i ask is -

"Do you have AVG?"

I have no idea why it does such a thing and probably neither do AVG

 

[citizensmith]

All of that ^ & another AVG moment - hp g6 windows 8.1 IDT audio service destroyed in erorr - Been broke since September client just noticed today

 

[HCHTech]

Just to bring some closure on this one.

Once I was able to get in, I discovered that it had once had AVG 2011 on it (evidenced by the existence of an AVG folder in Program Files). The "current" antivirus was McAfee 2012, which has been expired since January of 2013.

So, initially, from the limited account in safe mode, I could not rename the registry key. I booted back into regular mode, tried it there (unsuccessful),
but after a couple of go-rounds, I decided to try logging in anyway to the admin account from safe mode again, and lo and behold it worked. My next step would have been to use an offline registry editor, but I didn't need to resort to that.

So, I did the actual profile key rename once I was logged into the admin account in safe mode, and was then able to boot into the admin account in regular mode. From there a regular scan & clean (which included the AVG AND McAfee removal tools) restored normal operation.

They wouldn't spring for Kaspersky, so it's got Avast on it now. Again, I say

 

[OOMM]

For the record, I'd just like to add that I've seen this issue about 4 times in the last year on a client's PC. The fix each time was the registry hack, but after repeated re-occurrences I grew suspicious of AVG (paid edition) , and this thread confirms it for me. Bye bye AVG!!

 

[CLC]

FYI, AVG sucks, use a real av, close this thread

 

[JoeTech]

I have seen it happen other times, but 99 out of 100 times, it was always AVG. Had a repeat customer that refused to get rid of AVG, but after the 5th time, he got tired of paying us to fix it, so he switched to Kaspersky. It has been a few years and haven't heard back. Not surprising to see that AVG still is horrible and they haven't fixed this yet.

 

[SmallSpace]

I recently had this problem on my own personal desktop machine and Avast was the cause. Removing Avast fixed things right away.

 

[aceraxon]

Yeah right now Avast and AVG pretty much are Malware for Windows. Avast was pretty good on Macs for a long time, lately though I only use it quick for virus removal and have to uninstall it or it will block them from the internet, slow them down, mess with their Mail client, etc. Bleh...

 

[GTP]

I've seen it with both AVG and Avast. It can come up even months after AVG and Avast have been uninstalled.
Unfortunately both these garbage programs leave so much crud behind after being uninstalled.
And..using their removal tools still leaves stuff behind! (By accident...or design?)

When I ask my clients "do you have an antivirus?" and they answer "we use AVG (or Avast, or Norton) "I just say to them "that would be no then?"

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

While I don't like AVG and enjoy any opportunity to crack jokes on it...I've seen this issue plenty of times without AVG in the picture. The reg edit is a temp fix...I clone the drive to a new one as I want to rid chances of corruption.

 

[SmallSpace]

I have seen it with avast twice, once on a client machine and once on one of my own machines. Another time I had to do the registry fix with no AV on the client machine.