Vista - The User Profile Service service failed the logon. User Profile cannot be loaded

sgbandpv wrote:
This error can usually be fixed by following the steps below. Doing all this
requires a certain level of computer skills. You know yourself best and
whether taking the machine to a competent local computer tech (not a
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place) is the better solution for you.

1. Log into another user account with administrative privileges. If you
neglected to make an extra administrative account do Steps 2-3. Otherwise
continue at Step 4. Also see the general information about setting up user
accounts in Vista at the end of this post.

2. Boot into Safe Mode. Do this by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the
computer is starting up. This will get you to the right menu where you can
use your arrow key to select Safe Mode [enter]. The built-in Administrator
account is disabled by default in Vista. However, if no other administrative
accounts exist on the system it may be enabled. If it is, you will see an
icon for Administrator on the Welcome Screen in Safe Mode. Log into
Administrator.

3. If If you don't see the icon for the Administrator account in Safe Mode,
then the built-in Administrator account is still disabled and you'll need to
do some more work.

a. If you have a Vista installation DVD (not a recovery DVD) you can boot
the system with it. Select the default language, then choose "Repair your
computer". Then select "Command Prompt". At the command prompt type:

net user administrator /active:yes [enter]

If you don't have a Vista installation DVD you can either make a bootable
Vista Repair DVD from the file at this link:

http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/window...disc-download/

b. Or you can use NTpassword to enable the built-in Administrator. In both
cases you will need third-party burning software such as Nero, Roxio, or the
free ImgBurn (www.imgburn.com) to burn the .iso as an image, not as data.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Now remove the rescue CD/DVD you made, reboot the system into Windows, and
log into the built-in Administrator account you enabled.

4. Try a System Restore to when things were working. If you can log into
your own user account, you're finished. Otherwise continue at Step 5.

5. The critical files are under %systemdrive%\users\user-account\ntuser. The
ntuser.dat file is actually a registry hive. Run Regedit and select
HKEY_USERS and "load hive" from the menu. Now navigate to:

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

There is one line for each profile. If a profile is bad, check:

a) That the key name doesn't end in ".bak" (remove .bak if there)
b) That the RefCount value is 0 (change it if different)
c) That the State value is 0 (change if different)

Make any necessary changes, close Regedit and try to log in as that user.

6. If that doesn't fix your profile, it is corrupted. At that point you can
either make a new user account and copy your data to it or simply make a new
user account and delete the old corrupted one. Do not delete the old account
until you have retrieved data you need! Post back if you need help in
creating a new user account and copying data to it.

General recommendations for setting up users in Vista:

You absolutely do not want to have only one user account. Like XP and all
other modern operating systems, Vista is a multi-user operating system with
built-in system accounts such as Administrator, Default, All Users, and
Guest. These accounts should be left alone as they are part of the operating
system structure.

You particularly don't want only one user account with administrative
privileges on Vista because the built-in Administrator account (normally
only used in emergencies) is disabled by default. If you're running as
Administrator for your daily work and that account gets corrupted, things
will be Difficult. It isn't impossible to activate the built-in Administrator
to rescue things, but it will require third-party tools and working outside
the operating system.

The user account that is for your daily work should be a Standard user, with
the extra administrative user (call it something like "CompAdmin" or "Tech"
or the like) only there for elevation purposes. After you create
"CompAdmin", log into it and change your regular user account to Standard.
Then log back into your regular account.

If you want to go directly to the Desktop and skip the Welcome Screen with
the icons of user accounts, you can do this:

Start Orb>Search box>type: netplwiz [enter]
Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by
UAC

Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the
desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password
for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if
there is no password (null).

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ