Forum FAQ:A temporary profile is loaded after logging on to a Windows 7-based system

A temporary profile is loaded after logging on to a Windows 7-based system.

Symptom:

A temporary profile is loaded after logging on to a Windows 7-based system.

Resolution:

Possible Cause 1:

The account that you use to log on to the computer is a member of one or more of the following groups:

Guests

Domain Guests

Solution:

Remove the user account from the Guests Group and from the Domain Guests group.

For more information, refer to the following KB article:

A temporary user profile is created every time that you log on to a Windows Vista-based computer that is connected to a domain

Possible Cause 2:

The current user's profile was accidentally deleted from the system.

Solution:

To troubleshoot the issue, follow these steps:

1. Log on to the system by using an administrative user account other than the user account that is experiencing the problem.

2. Backup all data in the current user's profile folder if the profile folder still exists, and then delete the profile folder. By default, the profile resides in the following location:

%SystemDrive%\Users\UserName

3. Click theStart button, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

4. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\ProfileList

5. Under the ProfileList Subkey, delete the Subkey that is namedSID.bak .

Note: SID is a placeholder for the security identifier (SID) of the user account that is experiencing the problem. The SID.bak Subkey should contain a ProfileImagePath registry entry that points to the original profile folder of the user account that is experiencing the problem.

6. Exit Registry Editor.

7. Restart the system and log on to the system with the problematic user account.

After you log on to the system, the profile folder is re-created.

For more information, refer to the following KB article: