Windows 7: Preparing your desktop....C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable.

Anonymous

C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable.

This problem occours after a reboot but does not happen with any rhym or rhythm (seems random). Login screen appears, im the only user, my pic and user name appear correctly, i type my password and hit enter, then it gets wierd, it says that it is preparing my desktop; But this is not the first time for logging in. then when i do log in its a new desktop everyting default plus the windows aero is shut off and replaced with the Windows classic theme. then i get the message in the taskbar..... Your user profile was not loaded correctly! You have been logged on with a temporary profile. Changes you make to this profile will be lost when you log off. Please see the event log for details or contact your system administrator. Event viewer revals nothing related to this issue that i could find. Only 3 occourances of this so far. I am operaing Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. I have only seen one other mention of this elseware after a google search but was during RC version I have version 6.1.7600 build 7600 and am having this problem rumors are that it happens with Symantec Endpoint Protection installed which i do I have, Version 11.0.5002.333 which is the latest build update and was created for windows 7 compatibility. SEP Logs reveal nothing abnormal besides files that could not be scanned once but did not mention the above file location. Just wanting to see if anyone else has been having this problem.

Also I believe this to happen after a remote desktop connection either to or from the client pc then a reboot or a shut down.

Mentioned here in brief http://www.xiirus.net/articles/article-windows-7-preparing-your-desktop-woe-mbp3t.aspx

and here in vista http://www.xiirus.net/articles/article-vista-your-user-profile-was-not-loaded-correctly-cuu82.aspx < i do notice in the screenshot here that SEP is installed on that computer

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Anonymous

I don't know if this is going to be of any help, but here's a situation I ran into recently that I hope gets you closer to the solution.

Brief History

While testing out a new Win 7 image build, I had to make numerous changes to default user profile and default user hive to make the necessary adjustments that should only happen once per user. However, once I logged on, tested and made any additional adjustment(s), I couldn't just log out and back on because the profile was already created. I would need to start from scratch.

Like we currently do in Win XP, I deleted my existing profile and left it at that. On subsequent logons however I noticed that my changes weren't 'coming down' and adjustments I made to the profile weren't sticking. It was at that point I realized I was logging on with a temporary profile.

SolutionIn my case I not only had to delete (or rename) my user profile, but I also had to go into the registry and remove/rename the profile SID (well I think its the SID, or user GUID of some sort) for the profile I deleted.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Look at each SID/GUID
Check the ProfileImagePath to confirm you've selected the proper SID/GUID
Once you have the right one, delete the key or rename it (like append .BAK to the name)

Once I deleted the profile, all worked well again.

Now for you, I know that removing or renaming your profile may not be the most desirable solution, but if you try the suggestion above, or simply create a new account, it should help isolate where the problem lies.

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Anonymous

2010-07-24T20:04:29+00:00

this happend to me too just today around 10 am i have two computers and it happend on both i have never seen this on windows 7 untill now but when u restart the system everything returns to normal.

not sure if it was the update that was installed on july 23 2010 that cause this error to happen it was kb982300

C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable.
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Anonymous

2010-07-24T19:54:13+00:00

I have the same problem. Win 7 Pro 64.

Also running SEP.

I have found I can create this problem at will just by loging on as soon as my user picture becomes available.

I have also realised that if I wait till the HDD light stops flashing and then log in it never happens.

Seems to be that Microsoft have tried to speed up the boot and login process unfortunately if you log in too quick windows is not ready so creates a temp profile.

The slowest part of my system is the HDD. It reads 5.5 in the performance index, all the others are 7.3 and above. I suspect the HDD can't keep up during the boot process.

Try out my theory and see if it is the same for you
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Anonymous

2010-07-22T08:25:32+00:00

Weel, it seems that it's windows' fault!

Since my laptop is still newly bought, still under warranty, so I got it reformatted!

the same problem 'not yet' occur so far...

if it happened again... em.. anyone know how to get to the developer or manufacturer?

well, at least we tell our problem... whether they can help solving it is another thing
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Anonymous

2010-07-13T06:57:09+00:00

Hi I too got the same error.

System automatically restarted after installing some windows updates. After restart, OS went to classic mode throwing this error "C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable".

I recently bought this notebook - Dell Inspiron with Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

After second restart, everything worked fine. I think some 'windows updates' only doing this weird thing.
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