Ever get this when logging in to a Vista or Windows 7 system?  I seem to get it all the time, here is how to quickly fix it. By the way that is not a typo in my subjectline but how the error shows up when you try logging in. Not sure why but I am guessing that “User Profile Service is a Service and thus the “User Profile Service Service”  as the title of this post.

Log in with a admin account and run regedit. Go to the following key:

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

You will find a key or maybe several keys that have “.bak” extenion on them. You will also find the same key with out the “.bak“, Rename the key without  the  “.bak”  to same name + “.new” then rename the Key with “.bak” removing the “.bak“.  Basically we are making the .bak key the original key and so forth.

Now that you have that done we need to edit 2 keys inside of the newly renamed key.  Choose the folder without .bak, in the right pane, double click RefCount and type 0 and then click OK, next choose the folder without .bak, in the right pane, double click State and type 0 and then click OK.

Close the regedit and logout and back in as the user profile that was failing. It should allow you in now.

I hope this helps someone out there

Cubert