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

2012-06-19T20:24:19+00:00

Just experienced the exact same thing, pretty nerve wracking for a bit. Was I going to lose all my data/hours of my time trying to fix it? I bit my nails and rebooted and it seems ok now.

I think it's time to switch to another OS though, I can't take this kind of stress.
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Anonymous

2012-03-02T09:16:05+00:00

I got this '...Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable' error also on my Dell laptop - this coincided with me moving the laptop to a new location with different external monitor, keyboard and mouse.

The first sign that something was wrong was that 'preparing desktop....' took far too long, possibly 3 minutes or so.

I hope this gets fixed - seems the problem has been know for a long while now
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Anonymous

2011-12-13T15:45:45+00:00

I am working with a Gateway NV53A (AMD Athelon II X2 P320, 4 GB DDR3), running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, that was running very slow (the HDD is constantly working overtime). It is now also having the same problems described above after running MS Update several times. (There were 131 the first time I looked, are there are always more updates to apply!)

After this problem appeared, I have tried to restore using the Restore Points that Update has always insisted it was creating. However, they all seem to have disappeared!

I tried the troubleshooting tips from the following link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

After a reboot with all third party items disabled, I still had the same troubles. The user profile came up, but the Start button and other Windows 7 display items didn't appear "pretty" like they should (must be classic mode). Also, I couldn't run anything (the Start button didn't work). I right-clicked on the desktop, and got an error message that Explorer could not run.

Shut down, and started the system from power off. Booted to a different user. I get a dialog box saying Personalized Settings, Setting up personalized settings for: Web Platform Customizations. After all the updates, I'm not surprised it takes a long time to boot to this profile. How long should it take? I waited 15 minutes before hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL. The HDD is still constantly cranking! At least the security dialog came up this time (sometimes it won't). I've now been waiting 25 minutes, and the Task Manager shows only 6 Processes yet. The only thing that seems to be working is the HDD!

I've been working with computers since 1971. I became a computer professional in 1990. I was a Senior Systems Engineer with EDS for 8 years until 2001. I continued as an IT pro until 2006. This looks like a virus. Symantec seems to have nothing on it, though. (Symantec Business Suite is installed on the subject system, and I ran a full scan from Safe Mode before I did anything else - it found nothing, not even one tracking cookie! That is also odd.) I can only pray it's not an MBR infection.

Half an hour later, I finally have the desktop for the other user (still classic mode). I get an error WerFault.exe - Application Error. It's saying there was a memory I/O error, status 0xC0000185. Click OK and now the same message appears for taskmgr.exe! Click OK, and now the HDD light stops shining! Tried to run MSConfig.exe, and got an Unknown Publisher warning. Click okay and it comes up and works. Restore it to Normal startup.

Restart computer in normal mode, and log into that same user (not the one I did the updates from). Now it starts up normally. Deleted the user profile used to update Windows. Shut down to power off.

On restart normally, the problem is back! AARRGGHH!!
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Anonymous

2011-11-01T04:11:54+00:00

Hello,

Thank you very much for your suggestion,

this may be one of the cause,

I'll check it out,

bye
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