User profile failed after login- Windows 7

#1 · 30-07-2015 07:35PM #1

I received an error message saying that the 'user profile failed the logon'. I followed instructions that I found on youtube which involved renaming a file found under:
Local machine- software-microsoft-windows NT-current version-profile list. There were 2 files that I had to rename, one ending in .bac and one not.
I followed the instructions, restarted and found all my files were missing.
It's like a factory reset, I suspect I've just lost my profile. Any ideas how to rectify this. Go easy on me, I'm a bit out of my depth here

CatInABox · 30-07-2015 07:48PM

jos28 wrote: »

I received an error message saying that the 'user profile failed the logon'. I followed instructions that I found on youtube which involved renaming a file found under:
Local machine- software-microsoft-windows NT-current version-profile list. There were 2 files that I had to rename, one ending in .bac and one not.
I followed the instructions, restarted and found all my files were missing.
It's like a factory reset, I suspect I've just lost my profile. Any ideas how to rectify this. Go easy on me, I'm a bit out of my depth here

I recently had to do this as well, and this video worked perfectly for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEyxD6ZG-jI

When I did it, I mistakenly didn't remove a ".", so when it booted up, the same thing happened to me. I went back in and corrected it, so you haven't lost anything yet.

Bayberry · 30-07-2015 08:06PM

Can you change the title of the thread to include the phrase "User Profile" - it'll be a hell of a lot easier to find it in a years time if I encounter a problem like this, and half remember seeing a proposed solution here!

jos28 · 30-07-2015 08:16PM

Done Bayberry, reads better than Widows 7. Jeez, I'm all over the place today.
Thanks a million Cat, I'll watch that video and go through all the steps again. Fingers x'd

jos28 · 30-07-2015 08:46PM

YAY !!! It's fixed, thank you SO much Cat. There were 4 files in the profile section. I found the one with my name on it and made that the .bak one. Re-started my computer and was so happy to see my familiar desktop and all my files. Thanks a million !

CatInABox · 30-07-2015 09:06PM

Super, glad I could help out.

fancy pigeon · 03-08-2015 03:49AM

Could this be a similar issue in Windows Vista home premium? The desktop wont let any profile log on at all. All I want is my music and backup for my phone!

Bayberry · 03-08-2015 04:15AM

fancy pigeon wrote: »

Could this be a similar issue in Windows Vista home premium? The desktop wont let any profile log on at all. All I want is my music and backup for my phone!

The profile setup in Vista should be pretty much the same as in Win7, as far as I can remember, so the approach documented here should work.

fancy pigeon · 03-08-2015 12:09PM

Bayberry wrote: »

The profile setup in Vista should be pretty much the same as in Win7, as far as I can remember, so the approach documented here should work.

I will try that later today and report back either way! Thank you

fancy pigeon · 03-08-2015 07:15PM

fancy pigeon wrote: »

I will try that later today and report back either way! Thank you

Oh boy, do I feel silly

Turns out it was no other than a broken keyboard. Both profiles use a password with the same letter that wont work.

All sorted now

just goes to show I should start at the very simple and go from there!

Thanks for the help

Bayberry · 03-08-2015 07:53PM

Sure it could happen to a Bishop!

blackbox · 04-08-2015 08:20PM

I've had this problem a number of times. One thing that makes it much easier to resolve is to have more than one (administrator) user profile. You can use the second profile to repair the first without having to go to safe mode.

According to Microsoft the problem is caused by interference from the anti-virus on start up.

Aimead · 12-08-2015 04:33PM

blackbox wrote: »

You can use the second profile to repair the first without having to go to safe mode.

According to Microsoft the problem is caused by interference from the anti-virus on start up.

+1 for recommending the backup profile.

I can attest to Microsoft’s theory – I tend to recommend AVG and I’ve seen it cause this issue a few times now. Was the same video that came to rescue too!

Luckycharms_74 · 21-08-2015 07:53AM

This happened me this morning trying to log on to home PC. I will try this suggested fix and hopefully I can access my files then

User profile failed after login- Windows 7

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