Problems loading profiles in Terminal Services

[MockY]

Lately I have gotten this message when random clients are logging in:

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.

This can happen to any client and does not happen to only one. The only solution is to reboot the server, but since this is a rather large office, I really don't want to tell them all to log of while I restart the server 5 times a day.
Lately I have been removing the profile folder under Documents and Settings and let it be automatically created again when the user is logging in, and after that manually move over the files. This takes a lot of time and many things are forgotten (such as email clients who have more than one email address)

This is really getting to me now and I wonder why this is happening and what I can do to solve it. Running User Profile Hive Cleanup Service does not resolve anything.

 

[dberg35]

I had a similar issue and deleting the old profile would'nt work. I took the old profile say jdoe and renamed it to jdoe.old This seemed to have worked.

 

[MockY]

Well, that's pretty much what I am doing now and don't want to do anymore. This error should never occur in a costly "stable" operating system like this, and since swapping to Linux is out of the question (2 crucial but old software runs only on windows). So this error must stop or I will have to stop with Terminal Services and go back to a simple DC.

Having to replace 4-5 profiles a day is not something I want to spend my time doing.

 

[Dublin73]

I don't know what's causing your problem, but you could clear out all of the profiles nightly, outside of business hours. You can do this by running the Windows delprof.exe utility...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...95-6063-4462-8150-360394E98E1E&displaylang=en

This will be a bit slower logging in for the users, as their profiles will be getting created locally on the server at login, but it will get rid of the problem that you're currently experiencing.

just to confirm, is this Windows Server 2003 and not Windows 2000?

 

[dberg35]

Well outside of that I guess you might want to call MS to get their input.

 

[lowrad]

Have you checked the time sync. between the server and the clients? I'm thinking it's a kerberos issue. If it's more than a 5 minutes difference then you can get problems.

Patrik

 

[MockY]

delprof.exe is not an option since all the data gets erased, including emails and software settings. This is the same as if I deleted them by hand and is the opposite of what I want to do.
I have checked the time sync, because I can log in as other users using the same computer. Logging in with the "inoperable" account doesn't work at any machine or station, regardless if it is a thin client or thick client. As soon as I restart the server or replace the profile, it works just fine. So it seems like there is a serious bug which makes TS impossible to use.

 

[pgaliardo]

Not sure if the following addresses your problem, but it's worth a shot:

http://www.jsifaq.com/SF/Tips/Tip.aspx?id=6561

 

[MockY]

I will try this as soon as it occurs again. Luckily, no profiles had to be replaced the last 2 days.

Thanks

 

[MockY]

I have tried but nothing works. I have a hard time believing that I am alone in this world with this error. This is a major burden and the migration to a stable Linux system is now in the works. This will however take time and during the time being, having to manually remove/replace the profiles is absolutely not an option.
Thank you for all the suggestions so far, but I need additional assistance.

 

[Dublin73]

is this Windows Server 2003 and not Windows 2000?

 

[MockY]

It is Windows 2003. Never claimed it was 2000, though if I did, I apologize.

 

[Dublin73]

how many users are logged in when you see this message? how much RAM is available when you see this message? It's possible that you are hitting limitations on your server. This type of message is often due to either no RAM left, or your registry has expanded a far as it can go under HKEY_USERS. Under this key you'll see the profiles of all of your logged in users ( represented by their Windows SIDs )... and possibly users who aren't logged in at all. It's this bit that the windows UPH utility is used for

 

[AlfonsoVilar]

Quick questions....
Are you using roaming profiles or do any of the user have roaming profiles enabled?
Are the users redirecting any folders such as the My Documents folder?

 

[MockY]

I have a default TS setup where everything is left as it is one it is installed. I have a DC installed as well, and this on the same machine. This might be one of the reasons why this is working as bad as it does but it really shouldn't.

There is plenty of RAM left when this happens. I have 8GB installed (though only 4 is utilized due to the limitations of the 32bit architecture).

Usually when one user gets the error, more usually follows and lately it came to a point where there are so many having this error that I have to restart the server. Once I do that, everything works just fine, just like it should. However, this effects everyone and therefore doesn't just annoy me. And going through this procedure everyday effects my ability to even leave town for one day.

I am extremely fed up with how unstable Windows 2003 is but have no other option than continue with this platform and I'll do everything in my power to keep it as stable as possible. Last resort is to reinstall the entire OS and start from scratch, but this takes an enormous amount of time and is a scenario I wish I can avoid. However, if it comes down to that, I would like to find a book or article that touches on the subject of a perfect setup.

But for now, I would love to make the server run like it supposed to. I really appreciate all the help and suggestions that I get from you all.

 

[rjs]

I know this applies to 2000, not sure about 2003 but it is worth checking:

The registry quota is based on memory size. Registry size can also be set from Control Panel. Double-click System , then click the Advanced tab. On the Advanced tab click Performance Options and then Change . Enter the registry size.

Also, I have all my terminal servers set to reboot nightly (like 2am, 3am, etc). Gives me a clean slate every day.

R.Sobelman

http://www.tracklogins.com