When you log in, the message “You are logged in with a temporary profile” is displayed. You cannot access your files, and files created in this profile will be deleted when you log out... "? This error can occur in different versions and editions of Windows OS, including Windows 10. Logging into a temporary profile brings at least two troubles for the user. Firstly, logging into your account takes longer because... a temporary profile is created. Secondly, when you log into your account, it will have default settings: your background image, shortcuts, usual Explorer settings will not be there, the browser will not have bookmarks, history, etc. Below we will tell you how to get rid of the “You are logged in with a temporary profile” error so that you can resume normal operation of your account and avoid losing data.
Common reasons for this message to appear:
- the user profile is damaged (viruses, hard drive failure, operating system failure and other reasons);
- the user profile folder was incorrectly deleted from the Users folder (by default - C:\Users);
- the file located in the user profile is used by the system or some program.
Before you take any steps to fix the problem, check a couple of things:
1. Try simply restarting your computer. If the error does not appear, then nothing else needs to be done. Sometimes this error appears due to the incorrect operation of some programs.
2. If after rebooting you again see the message “You are logged in with a temporary profile” and the problem persists, check to see if there is any program installed on your desktop. Or maybe some file lying on the desktop is installed as a service. I saw a similar case back in Windows XP, when the ammyy.exe file was located on the desktop and the program was installed as a service. If something like this occurs, remove the service, move the file to another folder (for example, drive D:) and use it as you please from there.
If this does not help, then follow these steps to resolve the user profile issue.
How to get rid of the message “You are logged in with a temporary profile”
Step 1: Log into the problematic account using a temporary profile.
Step 2: Enable the built-in user Administrator command:
Net user Administrator /active:yes
Instead, you can create a new user account and add it to the Administrators group.
Step 3: Log out of the problematic account.
Step 4. Log in as a user Administrator that you activated (or sign in to a new account if you created one).
Step 5: Open Registry Editor:
Step 6: Go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Step 7. Find the registry hive that corresponds to your account, based on the value of the parameter ProfileImagePath), and remove it:
Step 8: Sign in to your account again.
The second way to remove the error “You are logged in with a temporary profile”
If the first method does not help you, the user profile is probably seriously damaged. All we have to do is delete the user profile and create it again.
Step 1: Login to your built-in account Administrator or another account that has administrative rights.
Step 2. Go to the C:\Users\ folder [Problem account name]\. Copy or move all your important data (documents, music, pictures) to another location.
Step 3: Click Win+Break, select Advanced System Settings, press Options in area :
Step 4: Delete the profile of the account that receives the “You are signed in with a temporary profile” error when logging in.
It is noteworthy that in this case only the user profile is deleted, and the account itself remains on the computer.
Step 4: Restart your computer. In most cases this is not necessary, but for the purity of the experiment it is better to reboot.
Step 5: Try logging in again to the account that had the problem with your profile. Now this will take some time again, because we have erased all the profile data and it will be created again.
Step 6: If everything went well and there are no profile errors, you can start moving your documents, images and other data and setting up your profile from scratch.
If the steps described did not help you (although they should), you can always.
After starting the system, any user may find a strange notification on the screen indicating that you are logged in with a temporary profile. It appears on Windows 7, 10 and 8. In the seventh version of the system, the message will be supplemented with the following line: “You cannot access your files...”. When you turn off your computer, your data may be deleted. Scary message isn't it? The problem is quite simple to fix and now we’ll figure out what’s what.
The main reason for the appearance of a temporary Windows profile is that the user account directory has been deleted, or because its name has changed. There may be other reasons that we may not be aware of. But let's hope that the tips in this article will help you.
Fix "You're signed in with a temporary Windows 10 profile"
For now, let's deal with the ten. Surprisingly, it is replete with various bugs, but with each update they become less and less. The tips in this article will be explained in simple language, and for each system separately.
When you turn on your Windows 10 computer, you will see the notification at the bottom right that I mentioned above about resetting the standard application. What needs to be done in this case?
If your computer is not an office computer and you are an administrator, then read below for an option to correct the error. Otherwise you will have to create another administrator account. If it is impossible to do this, go to and do everything there.
So, as we work, we will need a registry. Before editing it, be sure to do it. And now detailed instructions:
- We launch the registry as follows: press the Win+R combination and enter regedit;
- In the window that opens on the left, open the indicated sections one by one until we are in the last one: .
- Open the destination and select the subsection where it is assigned ".bak". In the right window we find the ProfileImagePath parameter. Its value is the username, or more precisely, the path to the profile directory.
- Make sure the account name matches the one you specified. If there is a difference, double-click on the parameter and indicate the correct path and name of the account directory.
- Restart the PC.
Other articles:
What if the path to the account directory in the registry is correct?
- If there is a section on the left side of the window with the same name, but without the .bak extension, delete it.
- Delete the partition with the extension .bak.
- Restart the PC.
If the methods do not help, try doing a system restore.
Windows 7 temporary profile, how to fix it
The message “You are logged in with a temporary profile” is displayed on Windows 7. It is possible to use the instructions from the first method for Windows 10. But let's look at it again:
- We log into the system under the administrator profile, or in safe mode;
- Open the registry and go to the section HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList(the same);
- Find the subsection with the extension .bak and just delete as they did in the beginning. Before doing this, do not forget to make a backup of the registry or this section;
- Reboot the PC and see what the result is when logging into your account.
After you restart your computer, Windows will create a folder with the correct user profile and path, and the message that you are logged in with a temporary profile should disappear.
Other options for deleting a temporary profile
If the problem still appears, think about why it could have arisen; perhaps you recently installed some software or made some changes in the system that caused such a problem. If so, uninstall the program and correct the changes.
Log in as an administrator and move all important files to a non-system drive. Next we go to “Computer”. Choose "Properties of the system".
Useful:
On the left side of the window, select the item "Advanced system settings".
What's the point? You delete the profile, but the account doesn't go anywhere. After a reboot, everything should return to normal.
Finally, as I said at the beginning of the article, you can return to a restore point, that is, return the system to the moment when everything was normal, or you can create a new user.
The Windows operating system has many features that some users are not aware of. They are needed to perform very specific tasks, and one of these functions is the activation of a temporary profile in Windows. It can come in handy if you need to temporarily give your computer to someone who might put it at risk, since all actions performed from a temporary Windows profile are not saved.
At the same time, much more often on the Internet they search for how to disable the temporary Windows profile than how to enable it. This is due to the fact that as a result of various conflicts at the system level, errors, improper use of the computer, and in other situations, the temporary profile can turn on independently at each boot. When booting under a temporary profile, it is almost impossible to work in the usual rhythm, but many users cannot disable its automatic activation, since it occurs spontaneously.
This article discusses in detail how to disable the temporary profile in Windows 7, 8 and 10 on the home version of the operating system.
How to disable temporary profile in Windows 7
The method described in this paragraph is only suitable for the Windows 7 operating system. However, if it does not work, you can try using the method for Windows 8 and Windows 10, which is given below.
If, when you boot your computer, a notification appears in the lower right corner of the screen that says “You are logged in with a temporary profile,” this means that all actions performed on the computer will not be saved, with the exception of making fundamental changes to the operation of the system. That is, it is possible to make changes to the registry from a temporary profile, but to fix the problem you will need another account. Start an administrator account that does not report logging in with a temporary profile and follow these steps:
- Go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList 
After completing all the steps described above, you can go to the profile whose “treatment” was carried out. The Windows operating system will automatically create a new folder for storing user data, into which you can then transfer all the necessary information copied in advance.
How to disable temporary profile in Windows 10 or Windows 8
The situation in Windows 10 and Windows 8 with temporary profiles is approximately similar to the situation in Windows 7. That is, when the computer boots, the user receives a message in the list of notifications that the system was logged in using a temporary profile. Sometimes the situation is aggravated by the fact that a second error also appears, in which it says “The standard application has been reset.” The troubleshooting process is not much more complicated than the option described above for Windows 7.
To disable the automatic launch of a temporary profile when logging into Windows 10 and Windows 7, you must:
- Use an administrator account. If the problem in question occurs in the Administrator profile, you can continue to use it because the changes you make to the registry will be saved. In a situation where it is not possible to launch the main administrator profile, you can use the “Hidden Administrator Account” feature built into Windows. To activate it:
- When the situation with the account is resolved, press Windows + R on the keyboard to bring up the “Run” line and launch the registry editor with the regedit command;
- Next, you need to expand the menu on the left side to the section:
Option A: The Value column says C:\Users\(Username), and the username is the same as the one listed in C:\Users running through Explorer. In this case, follow these steps:
Option B: In the Value column, the username does not match the username of the folder in C:\Users. In this case, you must proceed as follows.
Sometimes Windows 7 OS fails to read your correct user profile properly, instead it loads a temporary profile that will appear as a new user profile. If you are not aware that this is a temporary profile in Windows 7 on a laptop or desktop computer, then you will be surprised to see a completely new desktop without your files, folders, programs, shortcuts and any personal settings. This step-by-step guide will show you how to fix temporary profile problems in Windows 7.
“You are already signed in with a temporary profile” is a famous message in Windows 7 that you will see when you have this problem. This guide has been updated with several other methods, more detailed information is written here, materials are posted, links on the topic and the experience I have with this same issue in Active Directory and Workgroups.
Why does Windows 7 boot with a temporary profile?
Obviously, your profile (files and folders located at C:\Users\user_name) is corrupted. But there is still a chance that the delay in reading your profile file is due to antivirus scanning or something else while the OS is loading. Typically, after entering your username and password, Windows will try to read and load your profile; if it becomes corrupted or there is a delay in reading, Windows will boot with the temp profile to give temporary access to the computer.
How to fix temporary profile in Windows 7 in workgroup and environment domain
1) Before you start doing anything, it's better to reboot your computer 2 or 3 times to see if the system is actually going to return the old correct profile. Continue to the next step if this doesn't work.
2) Rename the temporary profile in the registry and revert the old registry settings to the correct profile. This method worked most of the time for me in workgroup and domain.
a) Log in with a temporary profile.
b) Launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Find box in Windows 7.
c) Go to the next location.
e) You will see similar keys for the profile, but with an extension. bak as shown below.
f) Currently, you can log into a Windows 7 computer with a fresh (temporary) profile with the same key. So, rename the new profile key (which doesn't have . bak ) and delete. bak from the correct profile key. See below.
e) That's all. Log out and log back in (or restart your PC) with your username and password. If you are lucky, you should receive your correct profile with icons and profile settings in Windows 7.
If Windows 7 still does not boot with a temporary profile and constantly creates a key in the registry. bak , then this means that the user profile is indeed corrupted and the operating system is not reading it correctly.
3) This method worked for me several times and I was able to recover damaged files. Typically, a corrupt ntuser file can cause this problem. So, run a partition check on the disk where the user profile is located.
In Windows 7, it is better to run a disk check after a reboot if you see damaged entries and the repair process inside the user profile folder. If the scan finds and restores the files, especially the ntuser file, you can make your old Windows 7 profile back.
If the above steps did not help you, then we need to create a new profile with a new username.
Create a new user account
Basically we have to create a new user account by logging in and transferring the data from the old user profile to the new user profile. It's in a workgroup environment and you can create a new username locally, but it's difficult in a domain environment. Because the existing User account already exists on the domain server and nothing bad should happen to it. In addition, creating a new domain user account will cause problems with corporate mail and domain and public access group membership.
So we have to consider both cases separately.
4) Create a new username in the domain (in a workgroup environment) through Control Panel or through Computer Management. Make sure you have added the new user to the Administrators group.
Login with your new username and start copying your old profile information. I usually copy the data below:
a) My documents (music, video and downloads)
b) Desk
c) Favorites
e) Any PST files in Outlook
But Microsoft offers to copy all the information from the user profile (except for 3 files), as shown on their official website.
5) New user profile in a domain environment.
Since we cannot delete and create a new Domain User account for this purpose, we will only work from the client computer. Let's completely delete the user profile and create it again.
Copy important user data (above Step 4) or entire folders from the damaged profile to a new location. Double check that you have copied all the necessary folders and files from the old profile because we are going to delete it now.
Go to advanced system settings as shown below, click on Settings (User Profiles), select the corrupted user profile that is not loading properly in Windows 7, and then click Remove. The delete button will only be active if you are logged in with a different user account.
This will remove the entire user profile and associated user SIDs from the computer, including the registry keys we talked about earlier. You can double-check that the user account (SID) was deleted correctly, also by checking the C:\Users folder. Once they have been properly removed, reboot your computer and login with the same username (which didn't boot before). The computer should create a new user profile as it did the first time the user logged on. If required, you need to copy the old important data to the new profile and set up email in Outlook, etc.
I hope these tips help fix temporary profile issues in Windows 7.
When operating Windows networks, a situation constantly arises when several people log in to one workstation or server alternately or even simultaneously under different accounts. In the usual way or remotely. Accordingly, the operating system stores the settings and files of each logged-in user separately - in the user directory and in the registry.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to delete a profile. If you create it again (in domain networks you just need to log into your computer under your domain account), then you may encounter such an unpleasant thing as a temporary profile. The temporary profile does not save settings, which means that every reboot is like death for it. It is clear that it is impossible to work under such a profile.
In principle, in this case, rolling back the system to the nearest restore point helps. But the problem can be solved without this.
Let's say right away that although corporate users are more likely to encounter a problem, home users can be affected, for example, if the computer unexpectedly turns off or due to a file system failure.
The method is suitable for Windows 7/8.1/10 .
To get started, click Run in the Start menu and enter regedit.
Attention! All operations with the registry should be performed only when you know exactly what and how to do.
This will open the Windows Registry Editor. We need a section HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
Here you can see records about system users. As you can see, one of them has an extension .bak.
Due to a failure or repeated creation of a profile with the same name, Windows created a second entry about the user in the registry, and added .bak to the old one (with the correct settings) so that it would not be used.
If you click on the new entry, you will notice that the data is stored in the TEMP directory. This is what causes the settings to reset with every reboot.
In order to return everything as it was, we simply rename the registry branches. Let's remove .bak from the correct branch and assign it to the second one. I would not recommend completely deleting the duplicate branch.
Now change the parameters value RefCount And State to 0. To do this, double-click on the corresponding parameter and enter the required value.
Changing the RefCount parameter. Repeat with State. After the reboot, the normal profile will return to us.
You can also enroll more radical , if you do not plan to use this account (at least in the near future), but want to save yourself from unpleasant surprises in the future. I'm talking about Windows-based local network administrators now. Go to System Properties and find User Profiles there.
