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How to fix a Windows Vista or 7 corrupt user

profile: The User Profile Service failed the logon
If you're getting a "The User Profile Service failed the logon" message in
Windows 7 or Vista, don't panic - we show you how to fix it
By David Ludlow @daveludlow on 3 Feb 2015

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A corrupt user profile is one of the most annoying faults you can get. Although your data
remains safe on your hard disk, it prevents you from logging on to get access to it. If you're
getting a "The User Profile Service failed the logon" message in Windows 7 or Vista, then
don't panic, as the error is fairly easy to fix. We'll show you how in this article.
As always, when trying to repair your computer there's a chance that you could cause further
problems, so regular backups are a must. As you can't get into your computer, it may be
prudent to take its hard disk out and save the files to another computer or laptop. USB disk
caddies can be a life saver in this situation, letting you plug your hard disk with the damaged

user profile in it, into another computer via USB.

SYSTEM RESTORE
There's a chance that you can fix your computer by using System Restore. To do this, restart
your computer and hit F8 to bring up the Windows 7 or Vista boot menu. Choose Safe Mode
and boot into Windows. When you're at the desktop get up a Command Prompt and type in
rstrui to load System Restore. Click Next and then choose the restore point by date: pick a
date where you know that you computer worked properly. Click Next and Finish to restore
your computer. That may fix the issue, but if not, you'll need to follow our advice below.
First,you should make a backup of your computer's Registry using Safe Mode first, which
we'll show you how to do.

BACKUP THE REGISTRY

Your first job is to backup the Registry, protecting your computer

should the steps fail

below. Fortunately, this is an easy job and you don't need to be able to boot into the full OS
to do it. Restart your computer and tap F8 after the BIOS POST screen to bring up the boot
menu. Select Safe mode from the list.

Let your computer boot up. You may need to enter your username and password to log in to
the Safe Mode Desktop. Normally, you'd be able to backup the Registry by creating a
System Restore point, but you can't do this in Safe Mode. Instead click on Start, type Regedit
and hit Enter. In the Registry Editor hit File, Export, browse to where you want to save backup,
enter a name and click Save.

If your computer has a second Administrator account that you can access, you can backup
the Registry simply by booting into Windows and creating a new System Restore Point. Click
Start, right-click Computer and select Properties. Click System Protection in the left-hand
pane, then click the System protection tab and then click Create. Your computer will take a
backup of key files and the Registry.

RESTORING THE REGISTRY

If you do have a further problem with your computer after making Registry changes, you'll
need to restore everything to its previous settings. Doing this is pretty easy once you've
followed our steps above. Restart your computer and tap F8 after the BIOS POST test
messages to bring up the boot menu. Select Safe Mode to boot into the special mode used
for recovery. If prompted, select your username and enter your password to log onto your
computer.
If you created a backup by saving the Registry, browse to the .reg file you created above to
find the Registry backup for your computer. Just double-click this file and click OK on the
warning dialog box to integrate your old settings into the Registry. When you reboot your
computer next you Registry will be back its old settings.
If you created a backup by creating a new System Restore Point, run System Restore from the
Start Menu. Select the System Restore point you created, using the date and time to select
the correct one and restore your computer. After a reboot, you'll have the Registry back in its
initial state before you made any changes.
At this point you'll still have the original corrupted user profile problems, but you can now try
following the instructions again (or attempting a different method) in order to recover your
computer. You can restore your computer from the Registry backup as many times as you

like, so don't worry about further attempts to fix your computer.

Be careful of your backup, though, as you can run the file after you've fixed your computer. If
you accept the Registry changes that it will make, you'll just break your computer and corrupt
your user profile, forcing to fix it again.

FIX A CORRUPTED USER PROFILE METHOD 1 - CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT

Creating a new account means that you don't have to edit the Registry and can avoid more
potential damage. It's not such a clean fix, though, so if you're more confident about using
Windows, read Method 2 below.

STEP 1 - ENABLE HIDDEN ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT

The easiest and safest way to fix the problem is to create a brand new account and copy over
your old files and settings. However, you can only do this if you've got another user account
on the computer with Administrator settings. If you have, just boot your computer as normal
and skip to Step 2. If you haven't got another account, you need to enable the hidden
Administrator account. Boot into safe mode, as above. Click Start, type 'cmd', then right-click
Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. In the command prompt type:
Net user administrator /active:yes
Hit Enter and you should see a message that says, "The command completed successfully".

STEP 2 - LOG IN
Start your computer as normal, but when you get to the login screen, don't log in with your
normal user account. Instead, select either the hidden Administrator account, as enabled in
Step 1, or another account on your computer that has admin access.

STEP 3 - CREATE NEW ACCOUNT

Open Control Panel from the Start Menu and select User Account and Family Safety, then
click User Accounts. Click Manage another account, then click Create another account. Enter
a name for your new user (it must be different to the old one, although you can rename
later). Make your new account an Administrator, and click Create Account.

STEP 4 - COPY OLD DATA

You now need to copy all of your old data to your new account. First, click Start and choose
Switch account. On the Login screen, click your new account to log in to it for the first time (if
you don't do this, the user folder won't be created). When you're at the Desktop, log off and

log into the Administrator account you used in Step 2.

Use Windows Explorer to go to your old user's folder, which is most likely c:Users
. Press Alt, click Tools and select Folder Options. Click View and make sure you've selected
'Show hidden files, folders, and drives'. Deselect 'Hide protected operating system files
(Recommended)'. Click OK.
Select all files in this folder, except the ones that start Ntuser.dat, Ntuser.dat.log, Ntuser.ini.
Press Control-C or select Copy from the Edit menu (if you don't see the menu press Alt first).
Browse to your new user's folder (most likely c:Users). Press Control-V or select Paste, or
select Paste from the Edit menu (press Alt if you don't see this menu).

Log off and then back on as your new user. All of your files and application settings should
have come across, although some email applications may have to have messages redownloaded or their data exported separately (see the manufacturer's help). When you're
sure that you've got everything, you can delete your old user and their files, and rename your
new user account. Don't forget to go back into Safe mode and disable the Administrator
account, using the following command:
Net user administrator /active:no

METHOD 2 - EDIT THE REGISTRY

This method has the potential to cause more harm, so it's best followed only by more
advanced users. Remember to backup your Registry following the instructions at the start of

this article.

STEP 1 LAUNCH REGEDIT

Restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode, following the instructions at the start of the
article. Click on the Start menu, type Regedit and hit Enter to start the Registry Editor.
Using the left-hand panel, browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/ProfileList.
You'll see some folders with the name starting S-1-5 followed by a long number. Click on
each one in turn, then in the Main Window look at the ProfileImagePath and make sure it's
the account with the problem. This is the name of the user folder and contains the name of
the username it relates to.
If you have two folders for your username, and one ends in .bak, you need to do this: rightclick the folder that doesn't have .bak in it, select rename and add '.ba' to the end of the
name. Rename the folder with .bak in it, deleting the .bak part of the name. If you have one
folder with a .bak at the end, rename to remove the .bak part.

STEP 2 - CHANGE REFCOUNT

Select the folder with the .bak in the name, then in the main Window double-click RefCount.
Change the Value data to 0, then click OK. Close the Registry Editor and Restart your
computer, and you can now login to your existing account. If you have further problems, you
can restore your original Registry settings following the instructions at the start of this
article, then follow Method 1 to repair your corrupted user profile.

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22Comments

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Jointhediscussion
BlackPhi 10monthsago

I'mnotsureaboutVista,butinWindows7youneedavalidaccounttobeabletologonto
Safemode,soStep1abovefails(forbothmethods).
Ifthedamagedaccountistheonlyadministratoraccountavailablethenyou'restuckwith
systemrepairalthoughthatdoesgiveyouasystemrestoreoptionwhichisoftenthe
easiestwaytoovercomethisproblem(preferablyfollowedbyfixingRefcount,asdescribed
above).
13

Reply Share

Kirsty 7monthsago

PleasehelpIfollowedtheabove(method1)andmanagedtogetbackintomylaptopand
createanewuserbutmyolduserdoesnotappearanywhereinthec:usersplacewhereit
saysitshouldbethereforeIcannotfindmyolddatatocopyovertothenewuser.Any
ideas?
Thanks
10

Reply Share

AndyMiles 7monthsago

Ihadthisproblemandjustsignedonusingthe"administrator"account,andthenusedthe
mostappropriaterestorepoint,beingcreatedonthelatestdatebeforetheproblem
occurred.Everythingwasfineafterthat.TheproblemseemedtostemfromwhenIinstalled
a64bitprogrammethatwouldnotwork,removed,itandinstalledthe32bitversioninstead.
IrestoredbacktobeforeIhadinstalledanything,andthenreinstalledthe32bitversion.
2

Reply Share

johnd 3monthsago

HadthesameproblemthismorningwhenIattemptedtologon.Followedthefirstmethod

HadthesameproblemthismorningwhenIattemptedtologon.Followedthefirstmethod
anditworkedatreat.Afteriloggedbackin,Iimmediatelycreatedanotherbackupasa
precaution.verymanythanksforyouclearinstructions.
1

Reply Share

WilliamG 3monthsago

Amazinglyhelpful.Thankyou.WhenIwasinsafemodeIusedyourscreenshottotypein
thecommandwords.SomeonehasalsosuggestedusingsystemRESTOREwhichidid
andnowIhaveaworking,accessiblelaptop.Peoplelikeyouwhowriteupallthesedetails
forusfolktouseandaccessforallsortsofproblemsare,inmyoppinniononeofthemost
valuableandprobablyundervaluedaspectsoftheinternet.Thanksagain.Ihave
bookmarkedyourpage.Iknowwheretocomenexttimesomeonecallsformyinexpert
help.
1

Reply Share

BT 5monthsago

Thankyousomuch!Method1workedperfectly.Whatarelief,
GratefulofCambridgeshirex
1

Reply Share

Paul 5monthsago

BrillantfixedtheissueandmucheasiertofollowthantheMicrosoftofficialversion
thanks!
1

Reply Share

jon 5monthsago

asystemrestoredoesthetrick
1

Reply Share

StefanUytterhoeven 9monthsago

Ihadtoperformasystemrestore(founditoninternetsomewhere),forafewpeople...
Then,itworkedagain.
But,therefcountisnewtome.Whyisitneeded?ThepeopleIdidthesystemrestorefor,
havenoproblemssofar(Ididitafewmonthsago..)
1

Reply Share

guest>StefanUytterhoeven 6monthsago

Ihavethesameuserprofileservicefailedatthelogon,userprofilecannotbeloaded
messageatlogon.
theregistryeditmethodfailed.thesafemodewillnotallowtheadministrator.
tryingdoarestorewiththeoriginalwindowssystemcdfailed,itwillnotloadany
restorepoint,tryingtorepairthesystemfailed.

Reply Share

TamuninaySantos adayago

WhatIdidislaunchRegEdit,then
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/ProfileList.I

justdeletedthefolderwiththe.bakandmyfilesareallwell.EverytimeIencounter"Theuser
profileservicefailedthelogon.Userprofilecannotbeloaded",Ijustdeletethefolderwiththe
.bak.

Reply Share

Mark 2daysago

IwasabletotaketheDefaultprofilefromaworkingPCandcopyittothenonworkingPC.
Thisfixedmyissues.BesuretodeletetheoldDefaultprofilebeforecopyinginthenewone.

Reply Share

CarlosEspinosa 13daysago

ThanksalotDavid!Method2workedforme.Yourguideistheonlyrealsolutionoutthere.
Keepthegoodwork!

Reply Share

Jess amonthago

Thankyousomuch,firstmethodfixedit.Isavedmyfilesinsafemodefirstandthenjust
madeanewuseradminaccountusingyourfirstmethod,thendeletedtheoldaccount
sincemyfileshadalreadybeenrescued:)
Thankyousomuchforthehelp.

Reply Share

jocan amonthago

AllwentwelluntilStep4whenIwenttologonthenewlycreateduseraccountandthenthe
newaccountgavethesamefailedlogonmessagethatmyolduseraccountgave,even
thoughIhadneverloggedonbefore.IamabletologonusingtheAdministratoraccountthat
Icreated,butnotusinganyotheruseraccountIcreate.Anysuggestionsanyone?Thanks

Reply Share

TheFederalFarmer amonthago

andifyoudon'thaveafolderwith.bakattheend?Thenwhat??

Reply Share

Zvarcolacu 2monthsago

Itdidnotworkcreatinganewaccount,soIeditedtheregistry.Itworkedperfectly!THANK
YOU!

Reply Share

Taimoor 2monthsago

thanksalot...:)Manmyproblemissolved

Reply Share

HELPME 2monthsago

whydontihaveregedit

Reply Share

Reply Share

AdamRoss 3monthsago

WhenIrestartinsafemodemyTVsaysmodenotsupportedandthenIcan'tseethe
screen?....help!!

Reply Share

lordofbacon 4monthsago

Brilliant!Thanks!Registrymethodworkedformebutratherthanhaving2filesofmyuser
nameonewasatemp.Justcalledthatone.baanddeleted.bakanditworkedacharm

Reply Share

El 8monthsago

Theregistryeditmethodiseasilythemosteffectivefix.Aslongasyoufollowthe
instructionstotheletteritiscertainlyquickerandacleanfix.

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