Primary Symptom:
18 month old laptop started to have 'User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.' error when entering the user password on boot up. I put in the correct password, the error message displays, I press OK and then see a screen saying 'logging off' and the login screen is redisplayed.
Most fixes say to log into Safe Mode and do various things that I would like to try. The issue is Safe Mode is not a Boot Menu choice.
On a new boot, I press F2 and Phoenix SecureCore (tm) Setup Utility is displayed. Tabs across the top are:
Main tab only allows changes to date and time. Shows hardware configuration.
Advanced tab has everything Enabled except Boot-time Diagnostic Screen and the SATA Mode is AHCI.
Security tab has all passwords as Clear, Password on boot is Disabled.
Boot tab lists:
Hard Drive (Samsung drive)
USB Storage
CD/DVD/BD-ROM
Removable Devices
Network
Exit tab does that.
On a new boot, F8 does nothing but goes Dell screen and then to Windows startup screen. I see F12 Boot Options in the upper right.
On a new boot, F12 brings up the Boot Menu that has:
Hard Drive
CD/DVD/BD-ROM
Removable Devices
Network
Diagnostics
Safe Mode is not a choice. Have looked at F2 settings to see if anything will give me Safe Mode but nothing there. Hard Drive takes me to the Windows logon screen. I don't have bootable media for this laptop so cannot use CD, Removable Devices or Network. I have run Diagnostics and the machine is clean with no errors.
Been searching for hours and finding nothing. Did find a note in Dell saying to clear the laptop's static charge by removing peripherals and battery, push power button using AC cable for 15 seconds and try F8 again. Did all those things and it changed nothing.
When I try the wrong password, I get a wrong password message. Using the right password, I get the load failure message. Windows startup screen boots fine but I cannot log in.
Please help point me somewhere that configures Safe Boot so I can continue to how to fix this problem. If you have a complete solution, so much the better. I really appreciate the help. I'm at my wit's end right now.
Bracey in San Jose