Windows 7 user profile could not be loaded

Lately, I’ve been getting hit with this error, and I found this video that breaks down how to fix it.
But then—of course—a new issue popped up. According to the troubleshooting steps, you're supposed to tap certain keys during startup to start in safe mode; except my keyboard isn't responding at all during bootup, so now I'm just stuck...

There's only one user on the PC.

Anyone got any advice on how to handle this? Thanks.

Try hammering away at F8 while the thing boots up
you've gotta nail that sweet spot perfectly

by the way, running on just one user account is honestly asking for trouble
best bet is to have an admin account reserved strictly for installing software
otherwise, you should be doing all your daily stuff on a separate, standard user account

That’s exactly what I’ve been doing—tried it more than once already... and absolutely nothing happens. 😢

So, is the keyboard even working right?
Is it USB or PS/2?

Or is this some weird exotic hardware that only kicks in once you're actually inside Windows?

When you're booting up, you should be able to hit DEL to get into the BIOS
Just as a quick test, can you even do that?

The USB is... I'll give it a shot once I get home. 🙂

...Still nothing happening...
EDIT: That was back when I tried using the adapter... switched the keyboard back to USB just now, and now I can actually get into the BIOS if I hit Delete...

George Ross65 said:...Still nothing happening...
EDIT: That was back when I tried using the adapter... switched the keyboard back to USB just now, and now I can actually get into the BIOS if I hit Delete...

So what actually happens when you try hitting F8 while Windows is starting up?

Nothing much... just this weird clicking sound every single time... like a little click or a snap...
Since I forced a reset while it was still sitting in the BIOS, I got stuck with that black "Windows did not shut down properly" screen. It gives me a 30-second window to pick between starting in safe mode or starting normally... except the keyboard isn't responding at all—can't select either option. I just have to sit there and wait out the full 30 seconds... This is what happens every time I hard-reset this machine or pull the plug... that screen just pops up...

George Ross65 said:Nothing much... just this weird clicking sound every single time... like a little click or a snap...
Since I forced a reset while it was still sitting in the BIOS, I got stuck with that black "Windows did not shut down properly" screen. It gives me a 30-second window to pick between starting in safe mode or starting normally... except the keyboard isn't responding at all—can't select either option. I just have to sit there and wait out the full 30 seconds... This is what happens every time I hard-reset this machine or pull the plug... that screen just pops up...

If the keyboard actually works, you should be able to use the up/down arrows to highlight the other option to continue booting

What kind of keyboard are we talking about here? Some weird adapter, or just standard USB?

That clicking/snapping sound is a pretty bad sign if it's coming from the hard drive

So, there's a USB port available—someone suggested my issue might be USB-related, so they told me to grab a keyboard with a direct connector. I ended up getting an adapter just to plug the keyboard into the round port and gave that a shot...

The thing is, when I hit the arrow keys, nothing happens. It’s always been like this whenever the PC boots up after a sudden shutdown, even when everything was supposedly running fine... I always have to sit there waiting for those 30 seconds to pass.

George Ross65 said:So, there's a USB port available—someone suggested my issue might be USB-related, so they told me to grab a keyboard with a direct connector. I ended up getting an adapter just to plug the keyboard into the round port and gave that a shot...

The thing is, when I hit the arrow keys, nothing happens. It’s always been like this whenever the PC boots up after a sudden shutdown, even when everything was supposedly running fine... I always have to sit there waiting for those 30 seconds to pass.

That "round" adapter you mentioned is probably a USB-to-PS/2, the purple one, right?
The keyboard setup sounds weird; those arrows are supposed to navigate the boot menu options.
Is this a standard keyboard? You know, the middle section, then the arrows to the right, and then the number pad all the way on the right that toggles between numbers and arrows with the Num Lock key? Does the Num Lock light actually turn on and off?

Any chance you can borrow a real PS/2 keyboard from somewhere? Just remember, you have to plug it in before you turn the computer on. Sometimes the BIOS won't even detect it if you plug it in while it's already running.

I'll look into it... Thanks!

Alright, I finally managed to get the keyboard connected... Pressing F8 still gives me that same click, but—hey, at least I actually made it into Startup repair, and now I'm looking at this. 😢

George Ross65 said:Alright, I finally managed to get the keyboard connected... Pressing F8 still gives me that same click, but—hey, at least I actually made it into Startup repair, and now I'm looking at this. 😢

I know I’m being a bit old-school with my suggestions, but whenever I run into these kinds of headaches, I usually just stick to a simple little routine where I jump straight into DOS using a Windows 98 SE boot CD if that's an option.

I was just sitting here thinking about how much I love that feeling of a totally clean slate, you know? There’s something almost poetic about wiping everything away to start fresh, like clearing off a cluttered desk before starting a big new project. But man, typing out a command like `A/>format c:` is definitely one of those "don't do this unless you really mean it" moments! It’s a bit like deciding to bulldoze your entire house just because you wanted to change the wallpaper—it's super bold, but you might regret losing all those old photos and files later on. Just a little heads-up for anyone browsing: that's a pretty heavy-duty way to clear a drive!

Just a heads-up for everyone: if you go through with this, everything on your C: drive is going to be wiped clean!
Are you absolutely certain about that? I just want to make sure we're on the same page before we move forward.
100% 😁

George Ross65 said:Alright, I finally managed to get the keyboard connected... Pressing F8 still gives me that same click, but—hey, at least I actually made it into Startup repair, and now I'm looking at this. 😢

Maybe it's just a corrupted file system preventing a normal boot.
Try finding a CD to run a command prompt and trigger chkdsk—it can actually help sometimes.
Or, you know, just pull the drive, slave it to another PC as a secondary drive, and try to rescue whatever data is worth saving if there's anything left.