[NB Josh]

Okay, so last night I did a clean reinstall of Windows Vista because my C drive was getting too full of junk. Everything was going okay and it was installing the automatic updates. Then when it re-started after installing some of them I got this error message

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

I rebooted a few times and it has been hit and miss as far as it working. And by hit and miss I mean it has worked twice in over 25 tries. I am able to start it in safe mode though.

Here is the official fix from the Microsoft website. It involves going into the registry and changing some of the user profile information. I did everything suggested on the Microsoft site, and it still doesn't work. I tried creating a new profile and I had the same problem. I even tried reinstalling Windows again, but I still had the same problem after installing some of the updates.

One thing that should be noted is in the fix it is noted that you have to change a .bak file to a regular file. There is no .bak file in my registry. The the usual problem is that Windows created a backup of your profile (.bak) and it needs to be restored to be a regular file. This isn't what is wrong with mine. Every website I've checked says that this is the issue and offers the same fix as the Microsoft site.

Does anyone know any other way of fixing it? I've tried absolutely everything I can think of.

 

[CyberStorm]

If you get in fine using safe mode, can you create another user? (Not sure if its possible in safe mode) Grant the user admin privileges. Restart and try logging in as the new user.

 

[hugh]

I even tried reinstalling Windows again, but I still had the same problem after installing some of the updates.

So it worked when you first re-installed Windows?

If so, I would try going back via a restore point to a point in time that it worked then consider your options

 

[dosborne]

I get this issue once in a while on a cold boot, but fortunately for me, a restart corrects it and the profile loads. I figure it is some sort of timing issue although I've been through drive upgrades, standard to raid, etc and I still get it once in a while, but only on a cold boot. Wish I had a better solution to offer you.