Unable to recreate user profile folder after deleting it from the C:\Users folder in Windows 7

Problem

You’ve just cleaned up the user profile folders on your Windows 7 virtual machine by deleting folders in C:\Users but when you try logging on with a user who used to have a profile stored on the desktop, you receive the following message:

You have been logged on with a temporary profile.
You cannot access your files and files created in this profile will be deleted when you log off. To fix this, log off and try logging on later. Please see the event log for details or contact your system administrator.

Solution

As per the following KB for Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947242, Windows 7 keeps settings in the registry to track the profiles stored on the desktop.  In order for Windows 7 to recreate the profiles folder, you will need to open up the registry editor and remove the keys associated with the profile folders you’ve deleted in:

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

Navigate through each key and look for at the ProfileImagePath to determine which folder each key is mapped to and when you’ve found the keys representing the profile folders you’ve deleted, delete the key.

Profiles should now be recreated.