Builds 19593 to 20226 User Profile Logon Issue - Workaround Included

Anonymous
2020-10-06T04:41:28+00:00

If you'd like to share a link to this post, we've created a short URL to assist:https://aka.ms/20226profile

*Edit*  This scenario could impact users in the Dev Channel (only) on builds 19593 through 20226.  The same workaround applies to any user in this build range in the Dev Channel who experiences this scenario.

Hello Windows Insiders,

After the launch of build 20226 to the Dev channel, a small number of users have reported not being able to log into their user profile(s) as expected.  This post covers this scenario, including a workaround for those affected who see the following message:

Note: this workaround ONLY applies to builds 19593 through 20226 on the Dev channel.  It does not apply to Retail users, or users in the Beta or Release Preview Channels..

Note:  the included steps assume your Windows installation is defaulted to the C: drive.  If you have installed Windows on a different drive letter, please replace c: with the proper drive letter for your installation.

To bypass this issue, please complete the following steps:

If your account is an Administrator account on the affected device:

  1. When you see the “We can’t sign into your account” dialogue, click the Close button.
  2. Open an elevated Command Prompt window.
  3. Enter and submit the following commands one line at a time:
    • cd c:\users%username%
    • takeown /F ntuser.dat*
    • icacls ntuser.dat* /reset
    • icacls ntuser.dat* /setowner "SYSTEM"
  4. Sign out.
  5. You will stop seeing the above dialog on your next sign-in.

If your account is NOT an Administrator account on the affected device:

  1. When you see the “We can’t sign into your account” dialogue, click the Close button.
  2. Open a standard Command Prompt window.
  3. Enter the following command:
    • Echo %username%
    • (Make note of the returned username, you will use it in step 6)
  4. Close the standard Command Prompt window.
  5. Open an elevated Command Prompt window.
  6. Enter and submit the following commands one line at a time:
    • cd c:\users\username
    • takeown /F ntuser.dat*
    • icacls ntuser.dat* /reset
    • icacls ntuser.dat* /setowner "SYSTEM"
  7. Sign out
  8. You will stop seeing the above dialog on your next sign-in

If these steps don’t resolve the issue for you on build 20226, you may also complete a rollback to your previous build to bypass.  You may then reinstall build 20226 and you will not encounter the issue a second time.

We’ve identified the cause of the bug and a fix is under development thanks to the swift feedback and insights from the Windows Insider community.

Thank you and keep the feedback coming!

  • The Windows Insider Team
Windows Insider program | Windows Insider preview | Security, privacy, and accounts

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-02T09:29:37+00:00

    Hi Jason,

    Thank you for helping with this. I tried the sequence but I get the error that the file ntuser.dat can't be found. What can I do?

    Also, I can't roll back as it seems the upgrade was more than 10 days ago.

    Thank you

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-10T14:30:29+00:00

    Next time, please remember to update the Feedback Hub issues as well :)

    I've make a comment on the collection I was following and connected to, so now you don't have to;

    Though I am sure an official update on the matter would not hurt :)

    Here's the link to the collection: https://aka.ms/AA9tv4d

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  4. Sumit 44,436 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2020-10-10T03:25:52+00:00

    If you have a copy of the text still, please share it!  I didn't hit it on any of my machines!

    Hi Jason,

    This is from mine:

    Windows cannot load the locally stored profile. Possible causes include insufficient memory rights or a corrupt profile.

    This is from Michael's Twitter.

    Windows was unable to load the registry. This problem is caused by insufficient memory or security rights.

    You would need to check if the same events are logged when the user hits a temporary profile issue after a feature update, which is reported occasionally here on the forums of public release.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-10T00:09:40+00:00

    you may also need to delete the regsitry entry for you profile if it get stuck with a .bak extension, these can be found in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.

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