Windows: User profile cannot be loaded - that's because

If the Windows user profile cannot be loaded, you can usually fix this error quickly. Find out exactly how this works in this practical tip.

User profile cannot be loaded under Windows - what to do?

1. Open the start menu and enter "regedit" in the search field. Confirm with [Enter].
2. Look for the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ ProfileList".
3. Here you have to search for the folder "S-1-5" followed by a long number and open it.
4. Right click on the folder and select "Rename". Remove the extension ".bak" and save with "OK".
5. Then double-click on the "RefCount" key and enter the value "0" under "Value data". Save with "OK".
6. Repeat this process for the "State" key.
7. Then restart your PC and try again to log in with your user account.

Alternatively, you can try to repair your user profile.