Fix: The User Profile Service Failed the Sign-in Error in Windows

Facing ‘The User Profile Service failed the sign-in’ in Windows?

Is there anything worse than finally sitting down on your computer with sheer determination to complete that work project you’ve been laboring over, only to receive an unexpected error that says ‘The User Profile Service failed the sign-in’?

Probably not. 

Recently, several users reported that their screens display the said error whenever they try to sign in to their user account in Windows. We had a look into the issue and discovered that it can be caused by a number of reasons, including corrupt user profile and incorrect Registry path.

If you are facing a similar issue and find yourself saying bad things about Windows under your breath, you are in the right place. In this guide, we will walk you through relevant troubleshooting steps that will help you resolve the issue, in detail.

Let’s get started.

1. Reboot your PC. 

Before we proceed with the troubleshooting steps, we suggest restarting your PC (if you haven’t done that already) and then trying to log in with the same user account. 

When an error like the one at hand occurs, it may be the result of a temporary glitch or bug in the operating system and can be resolved itself when the PC is restarted. If rebooting your PC did not help you, then proceed with the troubleshooting steps mentioned below in this guide.

2. Modify User Profile Value in Windows Registry.

In this method, we will try to repair the corrupt user profile that is causing the issue at hand using Windows Registry. 

Windows Registry is a database of low-level settings about Windows programs and applications. These programs depend on it to access computer resources. Administrators also use it to store your operating system settings.

The Windows Registry stores information on programs and processes as Registry keys, and you can alter the keys to customize your operating system. 

Here is how you can modify the User Profile value in Windows Registry:

  1. Type cmd in the search bar and click on Run as administrator to launch elevated Command Prompt.
  2. In the Command Prompt window, type the command mentioned below and hit Enter to execute it. Note the SID  (ex: S-1-5-25-….-1001) for the account name (ex: Zainab Falak). 
wmic useraccount get domain,name,sid
User Profile Service failed the sign-in Error in Windows
  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open a Run dialogue box.
  2. In the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit‘ and hit Enter. This will launch Windows Registry on your computer. 
  1. Once you are inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
  1. Find the SID keys (starting with S-1-5 along with long numbers) under ProfileList.
  2. Choose each S-1-5 with long numbers folder and, in the right pane, search for ProfileImagePath.
User Profile Service failed the sign-in Error in Windows
  1. Double click ProfileImagePath to see if the Value data corresponds to the user account on your PC. 

Now there mainly can be three cases after the 6th step. You can go for the one that is applicable. 


Circumstance 1

The first circumstance is that you only have one SID key without .bak at the end. 

If this scenario is applicable, here is what you need to do:

  1. Under ProfileList key, locate the SID key (ex: S-1-5-25-….-1001). 

Once identified, jump to the next step.


Circumstance 2

The second circumstance is that you only have one SID key with .bak at the end. 

In this case, here is what you need to do:

  1. Under the ProfileList key, locate and right-click the SID key (ex: S-1-5-25-….-1001.bak). 
  2. Select Rename and remove the ‘bak’ from the end of it. 

Now jump to the 5th step under Circumstance 3. 


Circumstance 3

The third scenario is that you have two or more instances of the same SID key with and without .bak at the end. 

Here is what you need to do in that case:

  1. Under ProfileList key, look for the SID keys (ex: “S-1-5-25-….-1001” and “S-1-5-25-….-1001.bak”). 
  2. Right-click on the key without bak at the end and delete it. 
  3. Now right-click on the key with bak at the end and rename it by removing the bak from the end. 
  4. Double-click on the key you just renamed and in the right pane, double-click on ProfileImagePath.
  5. Under Value data, make sure that the path of the profile folder is correct (example: C:\Users\Zainab Falak). You can refer to the path of the file folder that you noted down in step 2. 
User Profile Service failed the sign-in Error in Windows
  1. If the path is incorrect, enter the correct full path under Value data and hit Enter.
  2. In the same window, double-click on the State value and make sure that its value is set to 0 (zero) as shown below.
User Profile Service failed the sign-in Error in Windows
  1. Now check if the value of RefCount value is set to zero.
User Profile Service failed the sign-in Error in Windows

 Note: If you do not have the RefCount value, then right-click anywhere in the right pane and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option. Rename this newly created value as RefCount and double-click on it. Type 0 under Value data and hit Enter.

  1. Finally, close the Registry Editor and restart your PC. 

This should resolve the ‘User Profile Service failed the sign-in’ error in Windows. If the error persists, proceed to the next method below.

3. Try Using CleanMyPC. 

A corrupt file on your computer system can also cause problems such as this one. 

As your computer ages, you may want to clean out all junk files and perform deep cleaning. Not doing so would result in further issues and it may even slow your PC down. 

You can easily get rid of junk files and viruses in your computer system by using a reliable PC cleaner. If you are looking for a recommendation, we highly recommend using CleanMyPC.

Install CleanMyPC on your PC

There are several tools built into CleanMyPC, including (but not limited to) a Multi Uninstaller, Registry Cleaner, and a Speed Booster. They can be used to resolve problems related to computers, like slow performance and privacy concerns.

It is incredibly easy to use, and even first-time users will have no problem using CleanMyPC!


Try CleanMyPC Now!


4. Create New Profile Account.

The ‘User Profile Service failed the sign-in’ error in Windows can also arise when your profile account becomes corrupt due to a bug or corruption error within the system. 

If none of the troubleshooting methods listed above helped you fix the issue, then consider creating a new profile account. In this option, a default profile will be created to replace the current profile of the account. However, the user account will not be deleted.

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Sign in to the administrator account that is not affected by the issue.

Note: If you do not have an administrator account, boot your Windows in Safe Mode, enable the built-in Administrator system account. Then sign out of your current account, and sign in with the Administrator account.

  1. Type cmd in the search bar and click on Run as administrator to launch elevated Command Prompt. 
  2. Inside the Command Prompt window, type the command mentioned below and hit Enter to execute it.  Note the SID (ex: S-1-5-25-….-1001) for the corrupt file (ex: Zainab Falak). 
wmic useraccount get domain,name,sid
  1. Now open a Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard. 
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit‘ and hit Enter to launch Windows Registry.
  3. Once you are inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
  1. Delete the SID key associated with the corrupt account (both with or without .bak).
  2. Once done, close Registry Editor and Command Prompt.
  3. Now sign in to the account with the corrupt profile and create a new default profile for this account. 
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. 

Hopefully, this will resolve the issue once and for all. 

This brings us to the end of our guide on fixing ‘The User Profile Service failed the sign-in’ error in Windows. We hope that one of the methods mentioned in this guide did the trick for you and the issue is resolved by now. If you have any questions about the troubleshooting steps, please let us know in the comment section below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Zainab Falak

    Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter LinkedIn

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