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Troubleshooting "User Profile Cannot be Loaded" Error on Windows 7

If you're encountering the error message "User Profile cannot be loaded" on your Windows 7 system, it can be a frustrating experience. This issue might prevent you from accessing your desktop, files, and applications. In this blog post, we will guide you through some steps to troubleshoot and resolve this problem.

Check the User Profile Service

The first step is to ensure that the User Profile Service is running correctly. To do so:

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type services.msc and hit Enter. This will open the Services window.
  3. Look for "User Profile Service" in the list, right-click on it, and select "Properties."
  4. Ensure that the service is set to "Automatic" under the "Startup type" tab. If not, change it and click "Apply" and "OK."
  5. Go to the "General" tab and check if the service is started. If not, start it.
  6. Click "OK" to close the Properties window.

Now restart your computer and see if the error persists.

Repair Your User Profile

If the issue still exists after checking the User Profile Service, you may need to repair or recreate your user profile:

  1. Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter to open Command Prompt as an administrator.
  2. Type the following command and hit Enter: net user <your_username> <your_password> /active: Replace <your_username> and <your_password> with your actual username and password. This command sets your account as an active one.
  3. Press Win + X and select "Command Prompt (Admin)" to open another Command Prompt window.
  4. Type the following command and hit Enter: mkdir C:\Repaired_Profile (Create a new folder named "Repaired_Profile" in the root of your C: drive.)
  5. Type the following command, replacing <your_username> with your actual username: xcopy /E /H "%USERPROFILE%*" "C:\Repaired_Profile\%your_username%" /S /D /F /Y This command copies all files and directories in your current user profile to the new folder.
  6. Type the following command and hit Enter: net user <your_username> <your_password> /active: (Set your account as an active one again.)
  7. Log out of the current user session.
  8. Press Win + L to log back in, but this time using the local administrator account.
  9. Type the following command and hit Enter: net user <your_username> <your_password> /active: (Set your account as an active one again.)
  10. Type the following commands and hit Enter after each one to delete your existing profile folder and recreate it with the repaired data:
rmdir "%USERPROFILE%" /S /Q
mkdir "%USERPROFILE%"
robocopy "C:\Repaired_Profile\%your_username%\*" "%USERPROFILE%\" * /S /D /MOV /F /Y
  1. Log out of the administrator account and log back in using your regular user account. The issue should now be resolved.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should have successfully resolved the "User Profile cannot be loaded" error on your Windows 7 system. If you still encounter issues, consider seeking professional help from a technician or consulting Microsoft support resources for further assistance.

Published June, 2016