Cannot Create New User Profiles

From: Pat Fry (pfry.dontincludethis_at_dontincludethis.nm.net)
Date: 04/22/04 

Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:31:19 -0600

We are unable to create new user profiles on Windows XP Pro
workstations on my client's network. The network has one Windows 2000
server which is also the domain controller. Most, but not all, of
the workstations on the network are Windows XP Pro with up to date
Service Packs and patches. All of the XP computers have joined the
domain.

All of the workstations can log on to the network without problem if
the logon is done with a username that logged into the computer prior
to some undetermined point in time. An attempt to login on that same
computer by a domain user who has not previously used the computer
will result in the message :

"Windows cannot log you on because your profile cannot be
loaded. Check that you are connected to the network, or
that your network is functioning correctly. If this problem
persists, contact your network administrator. "

There is actually no problem connecting to the network. Logins procede
correctly as noted above.

In an attempt to get around the message, I logged into a workstation
as the domain administrator (who had previously used the computer and
had a working profile). Once in, I added the domain user to the local
user accounts. When this is done, the "new" user can log in, but is
initially greeted with a message along the lines of:

"Windows cannot locate your profile but will log you in using the
default user profile..."

Once logged in everything is fine until the next time the user logs
in. Of special concern is Outlook, which runs in Exchange Server mode
and is able to connect immediately after the first login.. At the next
login, the system hangs while "loading personal preferences". On the
third login, the login process completes, but Outlook fails to open
giving an error message like "Outlook cannot open."

I believed there was something wrong with the W2k server and the
netlogon share, so I brought in a "fresh" Windows XP machine and
joined it to the domain. Once a part of the domain, I was able to log
in as any domain user without a problem. No messages or other
distractions.

There must be something wrong with profile creation on the problem XP
machines.

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