How to Fix “The User Profile Service Failed the Sign-in” in Windows 11 and 10

If Windows shows “The User Profile Service failed the sign-in. User profile cannot be loaded.”, your account profile is usually corrupted, locked, or linked to a damaged registry entry. The fastest fix is to sign in through Safe Mode, create or enable another administrator account, then repair the affected profile from the Registry or move your files into a fresh profile.

Before editing anything: do not delete your old user folder from C:\Users. Most of the time, your documents, downloads, desktop files, and app data are still there.

Quick Answer

To fix “The User Profile Service failed the sign-in”, restart into Safe Mode, open Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList, find the profile SID with .bak, rename the duplicate keys, set State and RefCount to 0, then restart Windows. If the profile is badly damaged, create a new administrator account and copy your files from the old profile folder.

Problem

This error appears right after you enter your password or PIN on Windows 11 or Windows 10:

“The User Profile Service failed the sign-in. User profile cannot be loaded.”

Windows blocks the login because it cannot load the user profile connected to that account. You may still be able to sign in to another account, but the affected account keeps returning to the sign-in screen.

Cause

The most common cause is a corrupted user profile registry entry. Windows stores profile paths and status values under the ProfileList registry key. If Windows creates a temporary profile, fails during an update, or is interrupted during shutdown, it may rename the original profile entry with .bak and try to load the wrong one.

Prerequisites

• Access to Safe Mode or another administrator account.
• Your BitLocker recovery key, if BitLocker is enabled and Windows asks for it.
• A backup of important files, if you can access the drive.
• Comfort using Registry Editor. A wrong registry change can cause login problems.

Important: If this is a work or school PC joined to a domain, contact your IT administrator before changing profile registry keys.

Step-by-step Solution

1. Restart Windows and try Safe Mode

Safe Mode loads Windows with minimal services and often allows the profile service to recover.

1. Hold Shift and select Power > Restart from the sign-in screen.
2. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings.
3. Select Restart.
4. Press 4 for Safe Mode or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
5. Try signing in to the affected account.

If the account opens in Safe Mode, restart normally and test again. If the same error returns, continue with the registry fix.

2. Open Registry Editor from an administrator account

Sign in using another administrator account. If you do not have one, use Safe Mode with Command Prompt and enable the built-in administrator temporarily:

net user administrator /active:yes

Restart, sign in as Administrator, then continue. You can disable it later with:

net user administrator /active:no

3. Back up the ProfileList registry key

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

3. Right-click ProfileList and choose Export.
4. Save the backup somewhere safe, such as your Desktop.

4. Find the broken user profile SID

Under ProfileList, you will see folders starting with S-1-5-21. Click each one and check the ProfileImagePath value on the right.

Look for the path matching the affected user, for example:

C:\Users\Michael

You may see two similar entries:

S-1-5-21-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-1001
S-1-5-21-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-1001.bak

The .bak entry is often the original profile Windows failed to load.

5. Rename the SID registry entries

If you have one normal SID and one SID ending in .bak, do this carefully:

1. Right-click the SID without .bak and rename it by adding .old at the end.
2. Right-click the SID ending in .bak and remove .bak.
3. If needed, rename the .old entry later or leave it as a backup until the login works.

Example:

6. Set State and RefCount to 0

Select the repaired SID entry, then check the right pane.

1. Double-click State and set the value data to 0.
2. Double-click RefCount and set the value data to 0.
3. If RefCount does not exist, right-click the blank area, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it RefCount, and set it to 0.

Close Registry Editor and restart Windows normally.

7. Repair Windows system files

If the profile opens but Windows behaves oddly, run system repairs from an elevated Command Prompt or Windows Terminal:

sfc /scannow

Then run DISM:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Restart after both commands complete.

8. Create a new profile if the old one is still broken

If the registry fix does not resolve “The User Profile Service failed the sign-in”, create a fresh local administrator account and move your files manually.

net user NewAdmin StrongPassword123 /add
net localgroup administrators NewAdmin /add

Sign in to NewAdmin, then copy personal files from:

C:\Users\OldUsername

Copy only your personal folders first: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, and Videos. Avoid copying the entire old profile folder because it may bring the corruption into the new account.

Examples

Example 1: Only one SID has .bak

If there is only one SID for the user and it ends with .bak, remove .bak, then set State and RefCount to 0.

Example 2: ProfileImagePath points to TEMP

If ProfileImagePath points to a temporary folder instead of your real user folder, correct the registry entry only if you are sure which SID belongs to your account. Otherwise, create a new account and copy your files.

Common Causes

• Windows was powered off during an update.
• The PC lost power while signing in or shutting down.
• The disk has bad sectors or file system errors.
• The user profile folder was renamed manually.
• A cleanup tool deleted profile-related registry data.

Common Mistakes

• Deleting the old user folder too early: this can remove recoverable files.
• Editing the wrong SID: always confirm ProfileImagePath.
• Copying the whole AppData folder: this can transfer broken settings.
• Skipping the registry backup: export ProfileList before making changes.
• Leaving the built-in Administrator enabled: disable it after the repair.

Best Practices

• Keep a second local administrator account for emergency access.
• Use File History, OneDrive, or another backup method for personal files.
• Shut down Windows normally, especially during updates.
• Check disk health if profile errors happen more than once.
• Create a restore point before major registry or account changes.

Verification

After applying the fix, verify that Windows loads the correct profile:

1. Restart the PC normally.
2. Sign in to the affected account.
3. Open File Explorer and confirm your Desktop and Documents are present.
4. Press Windows + R, type %USERPROFILE%, and press Enter.
5. Confirm the path opens your correct folder under C:\Users.

You can also check Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Application for recent User Profile Service errors. If no new profile errors appear after a restart, the repair worked.