windows 7 profile coruption

[4ycr]

I have had a few computer with this problem this week and I was wondering if anyone else has seen an increase in this problem.

It's an easy fix but had a couple needing it fixed quickly due to work.

the error is

Error message: "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded”, when logging

 

[FoolishTech]

Seems like I saw a thread mentioning this recently here...

Was it merely a single corrupted user profile, or did it happen to all profiles?

 

[NETWizz]

How did you fix it? Delete the profile & let Windows re-create it... then copy the data back?

 

[teksquad]

This was posted by someone on the forums (cant remember who) but this did the trick for me.



Windows 7 Profile Corruption


Windows 7 User Profile Corruption. - You find that clicking upon a users profile, you get the "The user profile service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded".

1. Restart your computer and hit F8 enter on Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

2. Once a command prompt pops up, type: net user administrator password /active:yes (you can specify whatever password you want for the administrator account.) - In this case the password = password

3. If you get a message saying "The command completed successfully", then restart your computer by typing: shutdown -r

4. Boot up again pressing F8, but this time choose just Safe Mode.

5. You will be able to login as Administrator with the password you set in Step 3

6. Type regedit

7. Once the registry editor opens up, look for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

8. In the left pane, find the one that starts with S-1-5..... and ends with .BAK; if you don't find one, skip to step 13

9. Right click it and click Rename, then change the .BAK to .BK

10. Right click the one with the same numbering but without the .BAK and add .BAK add the end

11. Right click the one that you renamed to .BK and clickRename, delete the .BK

12. Eventually, you have switched the .BAK from the end of the second entry to the first. That should probably fix your problem.

13. If you didn't find a .BAK then try this: Open Windows Explorer to C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Application Data

14. If you find another Application Data below the one you're on, then delete it. That should probably also fix your problem.

15. If you can't login in Safe Mode, then reboot and hit F8 until you see the menu again, then hit enter highlightingRepair Your Computer

16. Wait until all Windows Files finish loading, then hit Next when it asks keyboard language.

17. Try logging in here also, choose your user from the dropdown menu, and type the password, then jump to step 21

18. If that still doesn't work, then if you have your Windows Installation CD still, put it in and restart your computer.

19. Hit F12 until you see a menu of boot options, choose Boot from CD

20. Choose keyboard language then hit next. Find Repair Your Computer

21. Choose Open Command Prompt and type: net user administrator password /active:yes (here again you can specify a password)

22. Close the command prompt and click Restart and jump to step 5

To disable the administrator account, type this in an elevated command prompt: net user administrator /active:no

 

[dbdawn]

The steps that teksquad listed will fix the problem. I don't know why this happens but it randomly does

 

[ITMAN]

Usually happens for some reason after a windows update

 

[jimbojambo]

Someone actually created a small prog to fix this on the autoit forums. Ill see if i can find it soon n post it.

Jamie

 

[NETWizz]

My users are all domain users... That said this really sucks.

I do find that Windows 7 is more reliable than Windows XP on a domain.

 

[dbdawn]

My users are all domain users... That said this really sucks.

I do find that Windows 7 is more reliable than Windows XP on a domain.

The above steps work for domain users as well. I have only seen it like twice out of a thousand users and we have been running Win7 quite a while now.

 

[NETWizz]

Good to know. In the past I have just logged on as someone else (me) and copied any of their profile data: Desktop, Favorites, Documents that wern't saved where they were supposed to be, etc to the user's network drive.

Then I deleted the user's profile...

Had that person logon... and I put their stuff back. It is pretty quick to go this route. Probably easier than the one listed above.

The caveat is you really need to reboot and logon as yourself to ensure none of the user's profile files are in use, so it will delete fully and properly.

 

[4ycr]

The fix above worked for me.

@FoolishTech all the times I have encountered it there was only one profile just like most home users have but I was able to use the built in admin account to fix them.

I must have missed the other thread.

 

[dbdawn]

Good to know. In the past I have just logged on as someone else (me) and copied any of their profile data: Desktop, Favorites, Documents that wern't saved where they were supposed to be, etc to the user's network drive.

Then I deleted the user's profile...

Had that person logon... and I put their stuff back. It is pretty quick to go this route. Probably easier than the one listed above.

The caveat is you really need to reboot and logon as yourself to ensure none of the user's profile files are in use, so it will delete fully and properly.

Yes, this would work with Win7 as well, the only downside is if there is a bunch of stuff to copy over I would try this way first.

I used to have to rename profiles all the time in XP.

 

[Vicenarian]

This was posted by someone on the forums (cant remember who) but this did the trick for me.



Windows 7 Profile Corruption


Windows 7 User Profile Corruption. - You find that clicking upon a users profile, you get the "The user profile service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded".

1. Restart your computer and hit F8 enter on Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

2. Once a command prompt pops up, type: net user administrator password /active:yes (you can specify whatever password you want for the administrator account.) - In this case the password = password

3. If you get a message saying "The command completed successfully", then restart your computer by typing: shutdown -r

4. Boot up again pressing F8, but this time choose just Safe Mode.

5. You will be able to login as Administrator with the password you set in Step 3

6. Type regedit

7. Once the registry editor opens up, look for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

8. In the left pane, find the one that starts with S-1-5..... and ends with .BAK; if you don't find one, skip to step 13

9. Right click it and click Rename, then change the .BAK to .BK

10. Right click the one with the same numbering but without the .BAK and add .BAK add the end

11. Right click the one that you renamed to .BK and clickRename, delete the .BK

12. Eventually, you have switched the .BAK from the end of the second entry to the first. That should probably fix your problem.

13. If you didn't find a .BAK then try this: Open Windows Explorer to C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Application Data

14. If you find another Application Data below the one you're on, then delete it. That should probably also fix your problem.

15. If you can't login in Safe Mode, then reboot and hit F8 until you see the menu again, then hit enter highlightingRepair Your Computer

16. Wait until all Windows Files finish loading, then hit Next when it asks keyboard language.

17. Try logging in here also, choose your user from the dropdown menu, and type the password, then jump to step 21

18. If that still doesn't work, then if you have your Windows Installation CD still, put it in and restart your computer.

19. Hit F12 until you see a menu of boot options, choose Boot from CD

20. Choose keyboard language then hit next. Find Repair Your Computer

21. Choose Open Command Prompt and type: net user administrator password /active:yes (here again you can specify a password)

22. Close the command prompt and click Restart and jump to step 5

To disable the administrator account, type this in an elevated command prompt: net user administrator /active:no

Will this work with XP/Vista as well?

 

[andcorptech]

Will this work with XP/Vista as well?

It works for Vista as the problem seem to start with Vista. Not sure about XP as I have never had that exact error on an XP machine.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I hope you do not have what I have.....I got a message saying that there are discrepancies in the user profile....blal blal blal....So I try to logon as admin, allows it one time in safe mode so i copy files to folder admin docs, then delete old user folders reboot, and same message for admin. all users were corrupt so I suspected a virus. I took the drive out and put a new hd in the computer as client is an attorney in a hurry. didn't see the new drive, so now I think it is a bios virus.

I've tried to update the AMI bios to the latest v2.37 i think, and it doesn't take it, reports corrupt file. I had to move on to other things but I suspect that this is a bios virus. in 8 hrs I have had three machines come in with the same issue, only of one of them was part of a domain. The attorney bought a new laptop so I have a few days to get the workstation backup and installed. The files were also on the server at work.

It doesn't make sense at the one on the domain is a 64 bit Win7 and supposedly there isn't a root kit malware to adjust the bios in a 64 bit windows yet. So I am still screwing with it but its odd that I cannot flash the bios, doesn't see a brand new hard drive.

Also the files disappeared when I attempted to recreate the profile and copy over the files back to the added profile.

If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

 

[MobileTechie]

In my experience failed profile loads are very often down to bad sectors. So I check that first.

 

[hondablaster]

I do it a bit differently

I fix this bug regularly. It also happened to the very PC I do support from! The posted fix works. I do something a bit different I use FabsAB4tech to copy over the profile first, using a different account then I delete it and the registry key referencing my C:\users\*username* let the domain authentication rebuild the desktop/profile. And of course use Fab to retrieve the profile once I am logged in as the troubled user. Make sure your in a real profile and not in a temp profile. If you get a temp profile you did not delete the right key.

The key in question is the same the one listed in a previous comment.

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

You will see a bunch of SIDS, browse each SID until you find the SID that is referencing your trouble profile and just DELETE the entire SID key on the left side! (Export it first if you want to be safe) navigate through all of them because you may find more than one reference to the profile.

There was one time I forgot to delete the C:\Users\Profile and it just went right back to the normal users desktop. No issues, no temp profile. I never tried to do it again. Perhaps this process could be much easier that we think?

 

[andcorptech]

Hondablaster, im not trying to be rude but why do you do all that for what is otherwise a 2 minute fix. Im not critisizing you but just wondered if im missing an added benefit of doing it your way.

I did one of these 2 days ago and it litterally took me 2 minutes. Boot in via WinPe , load remote reg via a Pe reg editor and change the BAK key as above. Reboot and all fixed .

 

[jimbojambo]

Hi Guys

Sorry it took so long but heres the reporfiler tool that i mentioned in an earlier post

http://iwr.cc/reprofiler

 

[hondablaster]

@andcorptech

You’re not being rude. My needs may be different than yours. Being inquisitive makes us better techs. But I think 2 minutes is an exaggeration. LOL

In a domain/AD environment or any system with more than one local admin account, I would not have to shut down the system to restore the user profile. My fix can be done from a remote support session and I do not need to reboot into a PE environment nor do I need any soft tools. It also works on encrypted HDDs. The reason I do a complete erase and restore of the user profile is because if the profile is corrupted I find other things may be buggy as well. I also do profile erasing if I login and my personal user account and it does not have the same issue as the user needing assistance. If you’re doing this for a residential user it will be less time consuming to simply rename the registry keys to restore the original profile.

Stripping down my method you’re basically logging in with an account that has Local Admin Rights and making a registry change and logging out. Whether you delete a profile, or simply recover it. If you have any account with local admin rights making the changes would be faster than rebooting into a PE environment. In a residential environment you may not have the second account hence your method works great!

I’m a very much keep it simple tech unless the advanced tools are truly needed. As stated earlier I am testing "reprofiler" it works great, but in my corporate domain its blocked

A google search shows all sorts of ways to restore profiles. Yours is good as well.