Hi there, Hoping someone has seen this. We're using local profiles in our school environment. In XP, if I'm troubleshooting some issue, I could delete (or rename) the old profile in c:\Documents and Settings\%username% and Windows would automatically create a new profile folder for that user the next time that person would log on. When I try to do the same thing in Windows 7, the next time I try to log on as the user whose profile I just deleted, Windows always comes up saying it is loading the current user with a temporary profile, instead of just creating a new profile folder like XP did. This happens even after a reboot. Any idea what's up? Is there a regkey that needs to be deleted now in addition to the profile folder in c:\Users? Thanks for any help, Sir_Timbit

I think the only solution you have here is to copy the user profile from the advanced system settings into a different location, or delete it from there but first make a backup. Then have the user log in. Sometimes those buttons are disabled or grayed out. you need to look online for windows button enabler. or some similar query. Good Luck!Please do not forget to select the best answer if it helps you! The Ultimate computer newbie guide since the discovery of spoon feeding! The Computer Manual dot Com

Hi there, The thing is, I don't need to keep the old profile. I just want Windows to create a new default profile using the default user account/settings that's already there. It'll work for users who've never logged onto that PC before; they get a new profile folder and they're off. But if I delete an existing user's local profile folder, it doesn't just create a new profile folder like it did in XP. Instead it gives them a temporary profile. I'm suspecting something's changed in Windows 7 in how it handles profiles. I know there are known issues with Sysprep crashing because profile folders were deleted, but a corresponding registry entry for that profile was not.

Please delete the user profile from Control Panel\User accounts. Also delete the Registry of the user account. Please refer: Error message when you log on to a Windows Vista-based or Windows 7-based computer by using a temporary profile: "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded"Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi Arthur, I tried your steps and that solves the problem. Thanks! So Win7 now has a corresponding registry key for each user in c:\users... Problem is...what if you need to delete 100 users in c:\users? I had a script that would delete all accounts in c:\users except for All(public), default, administrator, system, etc. That removes the folders but not the registry entries....Manually clicking to remove each local profile one by one would be very tedious.