It’s infrequently, of course, but sometimes there are such unpleasant situations when the next time you restart the computer system or when you turn on the stationary terminal or laptop with Windows installed on them, an incomprehensible message will appear on the screen for no reason to many: "Logging in with a temporary profile. " By far not all users know how to fix such a problem, since it becomes absolutely impossible to change some parameters of the OS itself or to access its own files, directories, or even some important installed programs. What does such a notice mean, what may cause its appearance, and how to return everything to normal? Let's try to figure it out.
What does the message that logging in to Windows 7 with a temporary profile mean?
To begin with, the appearance of such a message was mainly noticed precisely with Windows systems of the seventh modification and higher. In older operating systems like Vista or XP, such cases are extremely rare, although sometimes they also occur. But what is Windows trying to tell the user by displaying a notification that the system is logged in with a temporary profile? And this only means that the main registration record of the user himself is blocked for some reason, and instead the system independently created an "account" for login. This may be the result of exposure to certain malicious codes and virus applets. However, often users themselves can bring Windows to such a state by deleting some important objects from their own user directory, which is located in the User directory on drive C (or in any other section that is system).
How is a profile activated independently?
Now a few words about exactly how the user change takes place, after which a message appears stating that the system is logged in with a temporary profile. If anyone does not know, when transferring BIOS control to the bootloader of the operating system, at one of the first stages, the system registry is scanned. If a discrepancy is detected in it or there are default profile settings, the system first of all corrects them, or changes them to temporary parameters, or uses what is indicated. Roughly speaking, there is no user in the list of available registrations for logging in at startup or reboot. So it turns out that instead of the usual launch, it is reported that the login (in Windows 7) is made with a temporary profile. How to fix this problem?
Apparently, many have already guessed that the solution lies on the surface. You must either switch to the desired profile, or adjust the registry keys. Among other things, you need to be clearly aware that the "accounting" created during the start of the system does not nearly have the rights that are granted to the computer administrator or even the standard user registration, which is created by the usual user addition. But, despite all these restrictions, the use of some important system applets and tools is still possible. In particular, this concerns the command console, the use of which is extremely necessary at one of the first stages of eliminating the problem. We will dwell on this a bit later, but for now let's see what specific difficulties a user may encounter when starting the OS in such an unsightly mode.
The main difficulties of using a temporary profile
Before proceeding directly to troubleshooting, we will briefly dwell on the difficulties of using temporary profiles.
Firstly, instead of the usual “Desktop” with shortcuts, a completely empty space appears. As additional elements there are only a start button, a taskbar and a system tray.
Secondly, access to other user files, directories and programs is blocked even at the Explorer level. Thirdly, it is impossible to change and save any settings, since all such information is immediately deleted upon reboot. Fourthly, the system performance is significantly reduced, and even the simplest operations require much more time than in normal mode.
"Logging in with a temporary profile. Files cannot be accessed." What to do first?
Now let's see what can be done to restore access and the operating system itself. Initially, we assume that it is in the latest versions of the OS, in particular in Windows 7, that the login to the system is performed with a temporary profile. How to fix the situation?
The first step is to perform several preliminary operations. The highest priority is the inclusion of a hidden super administrator profile, which by default is built into all systems starting from the seventh modification (by the way, precisely because of its absence, the login problem in earlier systems does not occur, and if it does, it cannot be eliminated with the simplest methods). First, you should call the command line, running it on behalf of the administrator (well, at least there is access to it). In Windows 7, in the Run console, you can immediately enter the cmd command and select the checkbox on the start item with administrator rights. In Windows 10 , you can start from the PCM menu by clicking on the start button (it can also be called up using the Win + X combination).
After that, you need to set the activation, as shown in the image above, and reboot the system. Upon restarting, the cherished "account" of the administrator will appear in the login window, which you must enter into (the password for the super administrator is never set in the system). The logon message "Completed with a temporary profile" until it no longer appears. Now you need to go through the "Explorer" to the Users directory and from the folder with the name of the temporary user, copy all the data to any other place on the hard drive (this should be done only if you saved some files or changed files when working with the temporary profile simplest settings).
Nuances of deleting a temporary profile
Now, so that the notification that the logon is performed with a temporary profile (in Windows Server 2008 r2, for example) no longer appears, you need to call "Computer Properties" (through the PCM menu on the icon or through the system section in the "Control Panel" ), go to additional options, at the bottom of a new window, click the options button, and then delete the unfortunate profile, which is superfluous (sometimes Temp may be present in its name).
After that, move the previously copied files to your user directory in the Users directory, and at the end of the steps, restart the PC completely.
Troubleshooting through the registry: option one
But the above proposed method may not work, and Windows at restart will again inform that the system is logged in with a temporary profile. In this case, you need to call the registry editor (regedit), after which in the HKLM branch find or move to the ProfileList section.
In the list of profiles, you need to select the section for which there are two identical names, but the ending .bak is indicated for one of them (there may not be such a section, so be careful). Go to the section whose name does not download on .bak, and for the ProfileImagePath key, change the value of the specified path, in which, apparently, Temp will be present, to the path to your Users directory folder.
After that, set the State and RefCount keys to zero. Then it remains just to reboot the system.
Editing the registry: option two (if the first did not work)
If the first option did not give the desired effect, and the message "Login to the system with a temporary profile" appeared again, enter the registry again, delete the section that was edited, similarly change the parameters in the section with the ending .bak, after which you rename the section itself, removing .bak from the name. After this, as in the previous version, a restart of the system follows.
What to do if the problem is in viral exposure?
But a warning that the login is performed with a temporary profile, despite the actions taken, may appear again. This may be due to the presence of an active virus on the computer.
To avoid wasting time, use the boot from rescue media with antivirus applet Rescue Disk, for example, from Kaspersky, perform an in-depth scan of the computer, ticking all the items in the list of tested components, delete threats and reboot the system in normal mode. If the message appears during reboot after the virus has been deleted, edit the registry keys or delete the unnecessary profile again, as described above.
Brief conclusions and recommendations
Summarizing the above, it remains to give ordinary users a few tips that will help and eliminate this problem, and avoid its occurrence. To avoid this situation, never, under any circumstances, delete folders and files from your own user directory, unless you are sure that such actions will not affect the state of the system. It is better to use optimization programs like Advanced SystemCare or CCleaner to clean up all kinds of computer debris. Also, do not get rid of all disk breakpoints to clear disk space. Using optimizers, you can remove duplicate files that can be stored in user folders.
As for troubleshooting, the easiest way is to remove an unnecessary profile. This is the simplest solution. It is advisable to use registry editing only in cases where deleting the profile of the result will not produce or such actions will be prohibited by the system.
Keep the anti-virus databases up to date and update the components of installed full-time antiviruses in a timely manner. This will prevent most dangerous threats and executable applets from entering the computer. Finally, do not click on the links blocked by antiviruses on the Internet, and when installing any software, pay special attention to the installation points for additional (affiliate software), under which viruses can be masked. Only in this case, security can be guaranteed with almost one hundred percent certainty.