How to get past the user profile service failed the sign-in user profile cannot be loaded error (only for new users) after in-place upgrade?

Wheeler, Bill 0 Reputation points
2025-10-09T12:52:48.6833333+00:00

Our company is under the gun to upgrade our PC's from Windows 10 LTSC to Windows 11 using in-place upgrade. We are starting by running a Windows 10 Enterprise .ISO using the command line using the pkey switch and that works without issue, we then mount a Windows 11 .iso and run the upgrade to Windows 11 and that is when we get the user profile service failed the sign-in user profile cannot be loaded error only when a new user tries to login existing users can still login.

To trouble shoot the issue we have deleted the Default profile and let the upgrade re-create it, we renamed the Default profile, we have checked the registry for corrupt profiles, we took a brand new PC and copied the Default profile from there to the target PC, and works fine if in safe mode.

Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Other

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Wheeler, Bill 0 Reputation points
2026-10-20T14:55:13.5766667+00:00

We found the issue it was related to the version of Beyond Trust we were using.

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  1. VPHAN 47,435 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-22T13:41:49.36+00:00

    Hi Wheeler, Bill,

    Has your issue been solved yet? If it has, please vote it as an accepted answer so that others can benefit too. If not, is there anything I can help you with? Please let me know.

    Vivian

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  2. VPHAN 47,435 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-09T13:28:14.5766667+00:00

    Hi Bill,

    Thank you for reaching out and providing such detailed troubleshooting information.

    Since you’ve already tried deleting and replacing the Default profile, the next step I recommend is to check the folder permissions on:

    C:\Users\Default

    Ensure that “Authenticated Users” have Read & Execute, List folder contents, and Read permissions, and that the permissions are correctly inherited from the parent directory. Sometimes, during the upgrade, these permissions can be reset or lost, especially when using a custom ISO or command-line activation key.

    If the permissions look fine, please also verify the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

    Ensure there are no .bak entries and that the Default profile path correctly points to C:\Users\Default.

    Finally, since you mentioned it works fine in Safe Mode, that suggests a possible third-party service or policy interfering at login. You might want to try performing a clean boot and then test logging in with a new user profile.

    Please let me know if these steps help resolve the issue or if you'd like me to provide a PowerShell script to automate the permission and registry checks.

    If this answer helps, please don’t forget to hit “Accept Answer” so other users can benefit from it too 🙂

    Best regards,

    Vivian

     

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  3. VPHAN 47,435 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-09T15:47:42.3966667+00:00

    Since you’ve already verified the Default profile permissions, let’s look a bit deeper into what might be happening during the Windows 11 in-place upgrade process.

    One common cause in similar scenarios is a mismatch in profile state or registry inheritance introduced during the upgrade. When the Default profile is re-created, some underlying registry hives (especially NTUSER.DAT) can become corrupted or improperly copied. I recommend trying the following next steps:

    On a clean Windows 11 system, export the Default profile’s NTUSER.DAT from C:\Users\Default.

    Replace the same file on an affected PC after upgrade (you can rename the existing one first, just in case).

    Confirm that the ProfileList entries under

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

    point correctly to valid directories without any .bak keys.

    If possible, disable any third-party security or endpoint management tools during the upgrade — these sometimes block profile initialization for new users.

    If the issue still persists after these steps, I’d recommend capturing logs with SetupDiag or reviewing the User Profile Service (ProfSvc) events in Event Viewer right after a failed login. Those entries can often pinpoint what’s failing to load.

    Best regards,

    Vivian

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