Windows ProfileList missing

Hello

System details:
CPU T9600 3.06 GHz, HDD1 500 Gb (OS drive), HDD2 1 Tb, customized Sony Vaio PC VPCC19FX
Windows 8.1 Pro, x64.

Recently I used a USB internet modem dongle on my computer for accessing internet from a remote field site.
The USB modem insertion caused the computer to crash within a few seconds with a BSOD and some error
message which I couldn't crash. The modem was a Huawei (ISP MTS/MBlaze India).

Thereafter restarting the computer caused it to (1) re-install all modern apps and settings (like it does on first
installing Windows). (2) Every time it is restarted now it takes about 7 minutes from button press to reach stable
Desktop.

I tried finding the boot time with boot-racer which gave a total boot time of 400+ seconds (350+ after login screen).
MSConfig Boot Logging followed by viewing the Event Log showed that Windows was having problems (Error 1542)
loading the User Profile Service (file not found). Peeking around in the logs I found that the whole ProfileList Key
in the registry was missing. The login screen however shows my account and I can log in. Only the User related
Environment variables are missing and I cannot create new Users (to copy old stuff into a new account),
I cannot enable the in-built Admin profile and unable to do random system tasks (still finding them out).

I was wondering if there is a way (at least) to create the default (clean install) User Profile related Keys.
under "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList" - which currently is empty.
I have tried a start-up repair from the boot screen with the result of "couldn't repair". Also I am having problems
getting to boot using Safe mode (normal, with cmd prompt, with networking).

I can, but want to avoid reinstalling Windows, because all the sundry programs that I need for work etc. will take 2-3
days of total install time (plus time for customizing settings).

Any help will be appreciated.

June 11th, 2015 10:21am

Hi pahadi,

According to your description, it seems that the machine has been corrupted seriously.
We can try to run "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth" to check the health of the system files.
If the issue occurred recently, we can try to perform a system restore to recover the machine to a previous normal point.
If the issue persists, I am afraid we would perform a refresh to have a fix. Refreshing the PC will not delete any of your personal files or change your settings. Some of the apps may still work, Windows puts a list of removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC. This is the last method before we peformed a reinstallation.
Here is a link for reference of Refreshing:
How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-HK/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc

Best regards

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June 12th, 2015 2:51am

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