Windows 8 keeps loading with temporary profile

Anonymous
2012-11-22T02:28:10+00:00

I upgraded my Windows 7 to Win 8 Pro. Today my power cable got unplugged and the computer restarted but cannot open my default profile. It keeps logging me to a temporary profile and states that the default profile could not be loaded. I check through the error logs and it states that the Registry may have gotten corrupted. How would a restart of the computer corrupt my registry. The problem is that everytime I restart it keeps taking me to the temporary profile which is new everytime I log in. None of the settings are saved. How do I get back to my original profile. I tried Refreshing the PC and it failed. Is this fixable?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2012-11-22T16:59:04+00:00

Hi

We are glad to get your query on Windows Community.

As far as your query is concerned, It seem that you are having a tough time logging to your default account.

I will surely help you with issue. But I still require certain information to get the right resolution:

May I know whether the default account is an Admin account or a standard user account?

I would recommend you to follow the methods below to resolve the issue:

Method 1:

Enable Built Admin account.

a) Press Windows and x key together on your desktop screen.

b) Click on Command Prompt (admin).

c) Type: net user administrator /active: yes

Note: Please follow the same steps and type net user administrator /active: no to disable admin account after the troubleshooting is done

After enabling Built-in admin, please try with the steps below:

Step 1:

Perform SFC Scan

Please follow the steps to perform SFC Scan:

a. Press “Windows Key + Q” to open Charms Bar.

b. Type “cmd” without quotes in the search box.

c. On the left pane, right click on the “cmd” option and select “Run as Administrator”.

d. Type ‘sfc /scannow’ without quotes and hit enter.

Note: It may ask for windows installation DVD to fix and to enable SFC to make more than minor repairs. Some files saved on your computer might get deleted when fixing corrupted files.

Step 2:

Please perform Microsoft Safety Scanner to scan your computer for infections.

To download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner, follow these steps:

a) Go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner site at: Microsoft Safety Scanner

(http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx)

b) Click Download Now.

c) If prompted, click Run. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the Microsoft Safety Scanner. When prompted, add a shortcut to the Microsoft Safety Scanner to your desktop.

d) From your desktop, double click the Microsoft Safety Scanner icon. When the Microsoft Safety Scanner program launches, click Scan Type, then click Full Scan, then click Next.

e) After the scan is complete, remove all detected malware entries

Note: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

For more information refer:

Microsoft resources and guidance for removal of malware and viruses (Microsoft Safety Scanner).

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2671662

Step 3:

Please restart your PC and check if you are able to log in to your Default Profile.

Method 2:

From Built in administrator account create a new user account and transfer the profile data.

Please follow the steps below to do that:

a) Press Windows and x together and select Windows Explorer.

b) Click on View tab and Click on Options at the top right corner.

c) Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

d) Uncheck the box which states **Hide protected operating system files.**e) Click Yes to confirm, and then click OK.

f) Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.

g) Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:

•Ntuser.dat•Ntuser.dat.log•Ntuser.ini

h) Right click and Select Copy.

i) Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New Username is the name of the new user profile you created.

j) Right click inside the folder and select Paste.

k) Restart your PC and check if you are able to log in to default profile.

Please reply us back if the issue still persists.

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192 additional answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-12-07T06:38:32+00:00

    i have 3 of these options :o

    S-1-5-21-3080629410-1149354994-1324663627-1001 -

    (in the ProfileImagePath - C:\Users\UpdateusUser )

    S-1-5-21-3080629410-1149354994-1324663627-1002 -

    (in the ProfileImagePath - C:\Users\Lisa )

    S-1-5-21-3080629410-1149354994-1324663627-500 -

    (in the ProfileImagePath - C:\Users\Administrator )

    Im not sure what to do :o

    Please help me out <3

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-12-30T18:52:10+00:00

    I also had the same issue this morning with Windows logging me into a "temporary profile".  Thought I had lost everything.  But after searching around under the temp profile I located all my files and apps, just couldn't get to them through my normal user profile log on.

    After searching MS Windows site I ran across this thread, WOW!  This has been happening for a long time.  First time for me as of today.

    I ran System Restore and took my computer back to a point when I knew the system was working properly.  This did the trick.  As soon as the System Restore point was loaded I was able to log on to my normal user profile with no loss of files, apps or system settings.

    I will be running and saving additional manual System Restore Points much more often to ensure I have a fallback when this issue pops up again.  And from the looks of this thread it looks as if this problem may come back to visit me ...

    Good luck to all that run into this Windows issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-02-07T19:43:26+00:00

    I had the same problem yesterday. I did a System Restore to the previous day, and it fixed the problem. And I'm turning off automatic updates :)

    For what it's worth, a system restore to the point before the last Windows Update has also solved the problem for me. I'm not switching off the auto-updates just yet but it will be interesting to see if another attempt to auto-update will cause the temporary profile problem.

    This is Windows 8.1 on a Lenovo Yoga 11S with 4 user profiles (one admin, three local).

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-03-11T18:38:52+00:00

    This may have just happened to me. Lost data from a Microsoft validated administrator account, become a temporary one on log in. Not sure there's enough sarcasm to respond properly to this situation.

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