Frequent Win 10 service failure! Why?

Heedtheadvice

I am fairly frequently getting the "User Profile Service" sign in failure. Seems to happen most on two of four accounts.

Can fix it via regedit . The two problem profiles are backed up and the State value =8000(hex) and once fixed they are fine for a week or two or months-random times it seems. The two profiles affected are the ones most used without admin privilages.

Any suggestion as to what causes this and how to prevent?

Pc details Dell optiplex 7010 with SSD as prime drive. Win 10 pro version 2004 19401.685. Up to date apart from some features but this has been going on for several months.

Recently have done a full machine hardware diagnostics with no adverse reports. Regularly virus checked using Zone Alarm extreme security and Malwarebytes. Always shut down properly an Registry (and more) backed up frequently via Macrium Reflect.

Ideas, please!

CoastingHatbox

Are the other two accounts ever effected?

Is there anything else unexpected in the event log? Unexpected / non-graceful shutdowns/reboots? (Look for critical event logs in the 'system' event log with the source 'kernel-power', event id 41).

Are there any other events in the event log that correlate with the corruption occuring?

Are the non-admin accounts getting left signed-in for extended periods of time?

Heedtheadvice

Thanks for fast response. To answer:

1 Don't recollect the others being a prob. (They both have admin privilages)

2 will check log

3 and those

4 Not usually a prob after any extended periods, those tend to be me. Today was Mrs Heedtheadvice's logon that failed after being logged in two days ago logged out and shut down and no other use in between.

Neil_Jones

Anti virus software almost always causes this.

CoastingHatbox

I've seen this happen very occasionally - usually related to a power cut/crash/ungraceful reboot.

I've never seen it happening frequently. I wouldn't want to point the finger at antivirus, but I have strong views on both non-Microsoft Antivirus and backup software with Windows. If it is not broken yet, it will be.

I wonder if the backup software is freezing the registry in order to back it up in a consistent state, and perhaps during the freeze Window, updates to the registry become lossy. I would try disabling the backup software for a few days. (Alternatively, the backup software might be using the NTFS Volume Shadow Copy service, essentially creating a shadow copy (snapshot), backing that up and then removing the snapshot. If it is doing that, then it can be safely ruled out. I would check to see if a volume shadow copy exists whilst the backup is running. (Check before, during and after). You should be able to find out about Volume Shadow Copies using your search engine of choice, although I'm happy to dig out and provide some further information if you need it.

I store all my data on a fileserver and that gets backed up regularly, leaving desktop machines out of any backups. I set relatives up on a NextCloud instance so that their files, photos and other media are synchronized to my NextCloud server, and that also gets backed up nightly. The alternative, is relying on OneDrive or one of its many alternatives instead. Or: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/backup-and-restore-in-windows-10-352091d2-bb9d-3ea3-ed18-52ef2b88cbef

Chino

CoastingHatbox said:

I set relatives up on a NextCloud instance so that their files, photos and other media are synchronized to my NextCloud server

Presumably you have provided your relatives with the necessary credentials so they can access your NetCloud server in the event of problems arising and you becoming unable to render assistance (e.g. by falling underneath a bus).

Heedtheadvice

This has only come on in the last year or so but I have read that the cause is sometimes put down to a virus check conflict at boot time. If that was the case, thinking out loud, why would the admin accounts be fine today but not the others?.......

Just logged on so will check events and post back soon...

CoastingHatbox

Chino said:

CoastingHatbox said:

I set relatives up on a NextCloud instance so that their files, photos and other media are synchronized to my NextCloud server

Presumably you have provided your relatives with the necessary credentials so they can access your NetCloud server in the event of problems arising and you becoming unable to render assistance (e.g. by falling underneath a bus).

They do have the details written down and kept safely, but undoubtely forgotten about. I expressly tell them that they are on their own then. However, in the event something happens betwix my sudden demise and their arranging their own backup solution, there is a safe with a letter and multiple USB sticks with my password database on. And an arrangement with a colleague for providing some degree of support.

CoastingHatbox

Heedtheadvice said:

This has only come on in the last year or so but I have read that the cause is sometimes put down to a virus check conflict at boot time. If that was the case, thinking out loud, why would the admin accounts be fine today but not the others?.......

Just logged on so will check events and post back soon...

I'm not dismissing the theory out of hand, but I don't know how/why user profiles would even come into it at boot time. The user profile (and by that user registry hives) are loaded at the time a user signs in.

Does give me another thought though. If you have 'fast boot' enabled, it might be worth experimentally turning it off. Fast boot basically hibernates the machine when it is shutdown, rather than actually shut it down. I wonder if user (a) shuts the machine down (with fast boot enabled) whilst user (b) is still logged in, causes the problem. I doubt it though, as I would suspect all users are still signed out as per a normal shutdown. I always disable fast boot and it has not been an issue for the few family members that have it enabled. It is disabled as a matter of course on domain joined machines at work.

unforeseen

Fastboot bypasses the the boot diagnostics. It has nothing to do with how windows shuts down. 

Neil_Jones

CoastingHatbox said:

I've seen this happen very occasionally - usually related to a power cut/crash/ungraceful reboot.

I've never seen it happening frequently. I wouldn't want to point the finger at antivirus, but I have strong views on both non-Microsoft Antivirus and backup software with Windows. If it is not broken yet, it will be.

I've written before on here that I used to do domestic IT support in a previous job.  The "user profile service failed the logon" error came in quite regularly for fault fixing (even from some regulars) and I can tell you now every machine I saw that error on, they all had the same anti-virus package on.  As soon as the package was replaced with something else, the machines back came in for other things (other software issues and hardware issues and whatever else), but they never came back for that error message.