When Windows logs you in with a temporary profile, you lose access to your documents and settings after reboot. This registry fix usually resolves the issue by clearing the problematic profile entry.

The Fix

# 1. Boot into Safe Mode or log in with another Administrator account.
# 2. Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
# 3. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
# 4. Look for a subkey that ends with '.bak' (e.g., S-1-5-21...-1001.bak).
#    If a key with the same prefix but *without* '.bak' also exists, delete that one first.
# 5. Delete the entire subkey ending with '.bak'.

Why it works

  • Windows creates a temporary profile when it fails to load the correct user profile. The .bak entry in the ProfileList usually indicates a corrupted or improperly unloaded profile, and removing it forces Windows to attempt to load the correct profile on next login.

Verify

  • Reboot the computer and attempt to log in with the affected user account.
  • You should now log into your correct profile with all your settings and documents intact.

Notes

  • Requires Administrator privileges to edit the registry.
  • IMPORTANT: Back up your registry before making changes. (File > Export in regedit).
  • Ensure you're deleting the correct .bak key; it should correspond to the user's SID (Security Identifier).
  • If there's an existing key with the same SID without .bak, that's usually a temporary profile from a previous failed login. Delete that one first, then delete the .bak key.

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