SOLVED User Profile Service failed the sign in- User Profile Cannot be Loaded

[Debbbbb]

I updated my laptop today with some type of update to Windows 10. I now am getting the error message above and can't get into my laptop. I have read several reasons for this error, but I can't even get past the password screen to try any fixes. Any suggestions or has anyone seen this?

 

[Regedit32]

Hi Deb,

Welcome to the Forum.


When you start your computer it ought to at the least boot to your Lock screen.

In the bottom right corner of the lock screen you should see the Power icon

If you left click on the Power icon you should see options Sleep | Shut down | Restart

At this point Press & hold down your SHIFT key and while held down left-click on Restart

This will take you to a blue screen. On this screen click Troubleshoot then click Startup settings

Finally, click the Restart button


Your computer will now restart bringing you to another blue screen with a long list of choices.

• Press your F4 key to allow the computer to boot to Safe Mode
• Now see whether you can sign-in to your account in Safe mode

If your User profile is corrupt, then it is possible you may not be able to sign-in to Safe mode here either.

Could you try these initial steps for now and report back on whether you succeed in getting signed-in to Safe Mode. Then I or someone else, can walk you through the remaining steps to resolve the issue.​

Regards,

Regedit32

 

[Debbbbb]

Hi Deb,

Welcome to the Forum.


When you start your computer it ought to at the least boot to your Lock screen.

In the bottom right corner of the lock screen you should see the Power icon

If you left click on the Power icon you should see options Sleep | Shut down | Restart

At this point Press & hold down your SHIFT key and while held down left-click on Restart

This will take you to a blue screen. On this screen click Troubleshoot then click Startup settings

Finally, click the Restart button


Your computer will now restart bringing you to another blue screen with a long list of choices.

• Press your F4 key to allow the computer to boot to Safe Mode
• Now see whether you can sign-in to your account in Safe mode

If your User profile is corrupt, then it is possible you may not be able to sign-in to Safe mode here either.

Could you try these initial steps for now and report back on whether you succeed in getting signed-in to Safe Mode. Then I or someone else, can walk you through the remaining steps to resolve the issue.​

Regards,

Regedit32

Okay, this worked and I am in safe mode. Whats next? Thanks for your help.

 

[Regedit32]

That sounds promising then.

Ok then next thing to do is open the Registry Editor:

• Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog
• In the Run dialog type regedit then click OK
• You'll now see the Registry Editor window. In its address bar you will see the word Computer
• Left-click inside the Address bar. This will cause a flashing cursor to appear to the right of Computer
• Now copy & paste the following into the Address bar

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

Press Enter key

Sample image

After pressing the Enter key the left pane expands to the ProfileList key and expands its sub-keys.

You'll see here a series of sub-keys that has names starting: S-1-5-21. The number you have here will vary depending on the number of User Accounts you have set up on your computer.

The first one which ends with -1000 is the Default User Profile [ Ignore this key ]
​

The next two keys will likely contain the Profile you are having trouble with.

To confirm this you want to do two things:

1. Take a look at their names. Are they identical, with the exception one of them has .bak on the end?
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, then left-click on the sub-key with the name that ends with .bak This will allow you to view its content in the right pane.
   
   In the right-pane take a look at the ProfileImagePath and look at its Data value column. If this points to the Username of the Account you are experiencing the trouble with then this key is the one to work with, and also its sister key [ the one without .bak ].
   
   Sample image
   
   
   

So assuming you have the correct sub-keys now, the next steps are as follows:

• In the left pane you need to right-click on the sub-key that does not end with .bak and select Rename
• The sub-key will appear highlighted. Left-click once then add .ba to end of its current name then click away from the sub-key to take focus off it.

Sample image

​

• Now right-click on the sub-key that does end with .bak and select Rename.
• This will appear highlighted. Left-click once then backspace to remove the .bak and click away from the sub-key to take focus off it.

Sample image

• Now right-click on the sub-key ending with .ba and select Rename.
• This will appear highlighted. Left-click once then add k to end of name and click away from the sub-key to take the focus off it.

Sample image

So in a series of three steps we have simply swapped the naming of the two sub-keys.


The last step is to do the following:

• Left-click on the sub-key that does not end with .bak so you can view its content in the right pane
• Double-left-click on State in the right pane. You'll see a window pop open.
• Check that the Data value field in this pop-up window has a 0 in it. If it does not then replace whatever is there with a 0 then click OK

Sample image

​

• Close the Registry Editor
• Click on Start and select to Restart your computer.

All going well, you ought to now be able to sign-in as usual.​

 

[Debbbbb]

Okay, I followed your steps, however I do not have two Identical subkeys. Your instructions indicate if Yes then complete the steps. What if the answer is no? I have copied the section in question from your instructions.

To confirm this you want to do two things:

1. Take a look at their names. Are they identical, with the exception one of then has .bak on the end?
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, then left-click on the sub-key with the name that ends with .bak This will allow you to view its content in the right pane. WHAT IF THE ANSWER IS NO TO THIS?

 

[Debbbbb]

iN MY PROFILE LIST I HAVE THE FOLLOWING FOLDERS-
S-1-5-18
S-1-5-19
S-1-5-20
S-1-5-21-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-1001

That's it. No file name with.bak

Thanks.

 

[Trouble]

User Profile Service failed the sign in- User Profile Cannot be Loaded
I updated my laptop today with some type of update to Windows 10. I now am getting the error message above and can't get into my laptop.

Occasionally when you see that particular error, it can sometimes have to do with the availability of your internet connection.
There is another thread here https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/we-cant-sign-into-your-account-may-2017.13840/#post-66019
That suggests that, that can sometimes be the case.

 

[Debbbbb]

Occasionally when you see that particular error, it can sometimes have to do with the availability of your internet connection.
There is another thread here https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/we-cant-sign-into-your-account-may-2017.13840/#post-66019
That suggests that, that can sometimes be the case.

THanks for the tip. I tried this and no luck.

 

[Regedit32]

Ahh OK then.

Have you tried to reboot computer since signing in to Safe Mode?


Whatever caused the error may have resolved itself when you signed in to Safe Mode.

If it has not resolved, and the problem persists, then the next step would be to create a New User Account, sign-in to this and migrate important data from the old user account which does not work.


Could you confirm whether or not the issue resolved itself and you can now sign-in normally,

 

[Trouble]

THanks for the tip. I tried this and no luck.

So sorry that, that wasn't helpful.
Can you advise as to whether or not your error message is accompanied by anything suggesting that you are being logged in with a Temporary Profile or similar wording?

IF safe mode worked and you were able to login, then you might want to try also attempting to login with Safe Mode with Networking and see what that produces.
Otherwise.....
I'd go with Regedit32's suggestion of creating a new local user account as a member of the local administrators group and testing that to see if the problem is unique to your personal profile or if it a global problem.

 

[Debbbbb]

Ahh OK then.

Have you tried to reboot computer since signing in to Safe Mode?


Whatever caused the error may have resolved itself when you signed in to Safe Mode.

If it has not resolved, and the problem persists, then the next step would be to create a New User Account, sign-in to this and migrate important data from the old user account which does not work.


Could you confirm whether or not the issue resolved itself and you can now sign-in normally,

I just logged in and all is well. You are a life saver. Can't thank you enough.

 

[Debbbbb]

So sorry that, that wasn't helpful.
Can you advise as to whether or not your error message is accompanied by anything suggesting that you are being logged in with a Temporary Profile or similar wording?

IF safe mode worked and you were able to login, then you might want to try also attempting to login with Safe Mode with Networking and see what that produces.
Otherwise.....
I'd go with Regedit32's suggestion of creating a new local user account as a member of the local administrators group and testing that to see if the problem is unique to your personal profile or if it a global problem.

I logged in and all is well. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Regedit32]

Great news Deb.

Given we still don't know precisely what triggered the error, I think it would be very wise if you back up any important emails, files, pictures, music etcetera, just in case your User Profile is partially corrupted. You don't want to lose important information.

 

[MFL]

After a Windows update to version 1703 as Debbbbb the other day, I had the same "User Profile Service..." error message when I booted my computer. I followed your directions to boot to safe mode, but the computer hung a long time and did not get there. So I started again, this time hitting the F8 key during initial boot-up. After a delay, the computer announced that it was installing updates and not to turn off the computer. After a few minutes filled with slowly changing messages in big fonts, the computer's desktop appeared with the big Windows Creators update introductory blurb splashed on it. I now can boot up without being blocked. It may have been that, for whatever reason, the update had not fully installed the other day and F8 induced it to finish. The initial update process did strike me as taking much longer than the same process on my other computers.