How to Fix “You’ve Been Signed In with a Temporary Profile” in Windows 11

The notification “You’ve been signed in with a temporary profile. You can’t access your files, and files created in this profile will be deleted when you sign out” appears in Windows 11 when the User Profile Service (ProfSvc) fails to read or mount your personal user profile folder located in C:\Users\Username. Because Windows cannot verify ownership or decrypt the local NTUSER.DAT registry hive, it creates an ephemeral guest environment in volatile memory, hiding your desktop icons, documents, and personal settings. Resolving this issue involves correcting Security Identifier (SID) registry backup keys, repairing file permissions, and restoring original profile paths.

Why Windows 11 Loads a Temporary Profile

When you log into Windows, the operating system consults the system registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList to find the Security Identifier (SID) matching your user account. It then opens your user hive (NTUSER.DAT). If an antivirus scan, backup utility, or abrupt system shutdown leaves a file lock on NTUSER.DAT, Windows cannot open the database. Rather than locking you out entirely, Windows appends .bak to your SID key in the registry and generates a temporary profile.

Key triggers of this error include:

• Corrupted or Locked NTUSER.DAT Hive: Antivirus software scanning the user directory during shutdown or corrupted filesystem clusters preventing profile initialization.
• Orphaned Registry .bak Keys: The Windows ProfileList key retaining a secondary duplicate entry with a .bak extension. For related credential locks, see our guide on fixing Your credentials could not be verified in Windows 11.
• Premature Shutdown During Windows Updates: System restarting midway through migrating user app data folders.
• Broken User Shell Folder Paths: User directories redirected to disconnected network drives. (Explore our tutorial on fixing the system cannot find the path specified in Windows 11).

Profile State	Storage Path	Behavior Upon Sign-Out
Standard User Profile	C:\Users\YourUsername	All files, browser history, and settings permanently saved
Temporary Profile (TEMP)	C:\Users\TEMP	Completely erased and reset upon reboot or logoff
Registry Key (.bak)	ProfileList\S-1-5-21-...bak	Points to legitimate user profile but ignored by Windows
Active Glitched Key	ProfileList\S-1-5-21-...	Points to temporary path with State value 0x00000804

Step 1: Do Not Save Files to the Temporary Desktop

Before executing any repair steps, understand that any files saved to the Desktop or Documents folder while logged into a temporary profile will be permanently deleted upon reboot. Do not create new documents or move files into this temporary session.

Step 2: Restart Your PC Multiple Times

Occasionally, an unclosed background process or pending Windows servicing operation simply held a temporary lock on NTUSER.DAT. Restarting your computer two to three times often clears the lingering file handle, allowing Windows to load your standard profile normally without manual registry edits.

Step 3: Fix the .bak Profile Registry Key in Registry Editor

If multiple restarts fail to resolve the issue, repairing the duplicated Security Identifier (SID) in the Windows Registry permanently restores your original user profile.

1. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following key path:

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

3. Expand the ProfileList key. You will see several short SIDs (like S-1-5-18) followed by long subkeys starting with S-1-5-21-....
4. Look for two identical long SID keys where one ends with .bak and the other does not:
   • Click on the key without .bak. Look at the ProfileImagePath value in the right pane. It will likely point to C:\Users\TEMP.
   • Click on the key with .bak. Check its ProfileImagePath. It will point to your authentic user folder (e.g., C:\Users\John).
5. Right-click the key without .bak, select Rename, and add .old to the end of its name.
6. Right-click the key with .bak, select Rename, and delete the .bak extension so it becomes the primary key.
7. Select the newly renamed primary key. In the right pane, double-click the DWORD value named State, change its value data to 0, and click OK.
8. Double-click RefCount (if present) and set its value data to 0.
9. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. Windows 11 will now boot directly into your authentic user profile with all your files and settings intact.

Step 4: Check File Permissions on the User Directory

If the user folder permissions were modified, Windows may fail to open the profile even after correcting the registry.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users.
2. Right-click your authentic user folder and select Properties.
3. Navigate to the Security tab and click Advanced.
4. Ensure that your user account or Administrators is listed with Full control.
5. Tick the checkbox labelled Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object.
6. Click Apply, then click OK.

Step 5: Run DISM and System File Checker

System DLL corruption in the ProfSvc service can cause repeated profile load failures. Running component store repairs ensures core service stability.

1. Press Windows Key + X and select Terminal (Admin).
2. Execute the following commands sequentially:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Allow the scans to finish, then restart your PC.