User Profile cannot be Loaded at Login

After restarting or updating, you try to log in and get:

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

Step 1: Boot into Safe Mode

Hold Shift and click Restart on login screen (bottom-right)
Go to:
- Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart
- Press 4 for Safe Mode

Step 2: Fix Corrupt Profile in Registry

Go to:

You’ll see folders like S-1-5-21-XXXXXXX
Find the one with a .bak at the end — that’s your broken profile
Rename:
- The current one (no .bak) → .bak2
- The .bak one → remove .bak
Set these DWORD values to 0:
- State
- RefCount

Close the Registry Editor and reboot.

Step 3: Create a New Local Profile (If Needed)

If registry fix fails:

In Safe Mode:
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Task Manager → File > Run new task → cmd with admin
Run:

Reboot and log into the new profile.

Permanent