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Repair User Profile in Windows 10 [Check & Fix Corruption]

Reset your user profile in Windows 10 with these steps

10 min. read

Updated onJuly 3, 2024

updated onJuly 3, 2024

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Resolve multiple Windows PC issues and speed up your PC effortlessly with specialized software.

Windows 10 is tightly connected with your Microsoft account and user profile, and if a user profile gets corrupt, some serious issues may occur.

In this article, we’ll show you all the options you have when your user profile gets corrupt. This is a well-known issue, but there are ways tofix corrupt user profiles on Windows.

A corrupted user profile can cause problems and prevent you from accessing Windows.

What causes a corrupt user profile in Windows 10?

You should attempt to restart your Windows computer about four times, pausing between each restart to allow your machine to return to the Desktop each time.

Although it may sound ridiculous, this is not the case. Windows has an excellent self-recovery method that it may employ to fix a faulty user profile; however, this procedure needs many restarts of the operating system.

Unfortunately, corrupt user files are common in Windows, especially after the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Depending on the error message you receive, various solutions for this problem could be applied.

How do I fix a corrupted user profile in Windows 10?

1. Repair corrupted Windows 10 user profile with Windows Registry

How do I fix user profile problems? If your Windows 10 user profile registry is corrupt, try restarting your computer first, as it probably doesn’t work. Then restart it again andenter Safe Mode.

Note that the steps are similar for both Windows 10 and 11 and you can use this tofix a corrupted user profile in Windows 11.

Once you enter the Safe Mode, do the following:

This is a simple and easy method to fix a corrupt user profile on Windows 10 with Regedit, so be sure to give it a try.

If you believe doing it manually is confusing, we suggest you tryautomated repair softwareand restore broken and corrupted system files in a safe manner.

2. Create a new user profile in Windows 10

If you cannotlog into your user account on startup, you can only create a new account and then transfer files from your corrupt account to repair your user profile in Windows 10.

If you already have another account registered on your computer, log in with that account and follow the steps for copying files from one account to another, as shown below.

Moreover, if you don’t have another account, you’ll have to enable a special hidden admin account and thenlog into that account to create a new user account and transfer files from your old user profile.

You have activated the admin account, and it will be available tolog inon the next boot. So, when your computer starts, just login into the admin account and follow the steps below.

Now, you have a fully-function new user account, and all you have to do is to transfer your data from the old user account to it.

3. Repair user profile Windows 10 with CMD

Your files can become corrupted for various reasons, and in order to fix the problem, you need to perform an SFC scan.

If the SFC scan can’t fix the problem, or if you can’t run the SFC scan at all, you might want to try using the DISM scan instead.

This solution should alsofix the Settings app if it resets on reboot, but the highlighted guide has even more methods to solve this issue.

Keep in mind that a DISM scan can take up to 20 minutes or more to complete, so be sure not to interrupt it.

Before we start, we have to mention that PowerShell is a powerful tool for repairing a Windows 10 profile, and running certain commands can cause problems with your Windows installation.

To run this command, you need to do the following:

After doing that, the problem with the corrupted user profile should be resolved. As you can see, it’s possible to repair the user profile on Windows 10 with cmd, and this solution will help you do just that.

4. Install the latest updates

Windows will now download the available updates in the background. After installing the missing updates, check if the issue still appears.

5. Reset Windows 10

According to users, sometimes the only way to fix a corrupt user profile is to perform a reset for your user profile in Windows 10.

This process will remove installed applications but should keep your personal files intact. Just in case, it might be a good idea to back up your important files in case anything goes wrong.

It’s worth mentioning that this process might require aWindows 10 installation media, socreate one using Media Creation Tool.

If the resetting process sounds a bit confusing to you, be sure to check our guide onhow to reset Windows 10for more information.

6. Run an in-depth antivirus scan

In rare cases, certain malicious codes may trigger user profile issues and even corrupt your user profile.

You needreliable antivirus softwareto detect and remove the threats that caused this problem.

It’s important to run a full system scan and wait until the antivirus has scanned all your system files.

Moreover, here are some error variations that you may encounter, but fix with the solutions below:

How do I check if the user profile is corrupted in Windows 10?

One of the symptoms of corrupted user profile in Windows 10 is if your Windows 10 profile is not loading properly, or when youraccount profile picture won’t update. This is usually followed by a message that appears when trying to log in. In addition, certain features might not work properly.

Many users reported thatWindows apps can crash due to a corrupted user account, which will negatively impact your user experience.

In some instances, you might even besigned in with a temporary profile on Windows 10until you manage to find the issue.

What causes a corrupted user profile you may ask? It’s possible that your system is damaged or that it has encountered a bug. It’s also possible that yourprofile is not deleted completely, thus causing the issue.

User profileerrors can appear after a Windows Update, or if theuser profile is not in the registry, but luckily you can fix those issues by doing the following:

For more similar solutions, check out our post on how tofix the signed-in with a temporary profile errorin Windows 10/11.

That would be all about how to fix a corrupted user profile in Windows 10. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, just write them down in the comments section below.

Repair User Profile in Windows 10 [Check & Fix Corruption]#

How do I fix a corrupted user profile in Windows 10?#

1. Repair corrupted Windows 10 user profile with Windows Registry#

2. Create a new user profile in Windows 10#

3. Repair user profile Windows 10 with CMD#

4. Install the latest updates#

5. Reset Windows 10#

6. Run an in-depth antivirus scan#

How do I check if the user profile is corrupted in Windows 10?#