Windows – Can’t login with new local users in windows 10

user-profileswindows 10

I just upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I would like to create a new local admin and remove the administrator privileges from my main user. I created the new user but when I try to login I get the following error.

"The User Profile Service service failed the sign-in."
"User profile can not be loaded"

I do not see a folder for that user in c:\Users or a profile entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Nothing is jumping out at me in the event log either.

I created the user with the following steps.

  1. Setting
  2. Accounts,
  3. Family & other users
  4. Other users
  5. "Add someone else to this PC"
  6. "The person I want to add doesn't have an email address"
  7. "Add a user without a Microsoft account"
  8. Enter the user name and password
  9. Click next.

At this point I have a new (non administrator) user listed in the "Other users" list but can not login as that user. I tried making that user an administrator and that did not help. I have tried creating several new users and none of them work.

Best Answer

You might have a corrupt Default profile. (This can apparently occur when upgrading to Windows 10.)

When logging in for the first time with a new user, the Default profile is copied to create the profile for the new user. If it's corrupt, this can cause the login to fail for the new user.

Try the following steps:

  • Take a zip of C:\Users\Default from a Windows 10 installation that doesn't have this problem
  • Rename C:\Users\Default on the Windows 10 install that is having problems, to Default.Old
  • Unzip the non-corrupt Default profile into C:\Users

Now try again.

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