User Profile Service issues with Server 2008 R2 - Users get default profile

I'm having a similar issue to the case 28047361 but my Default hive isn't abnormally large.  It's only 1.2MB.  When a remote user logs in events 1515, 1511 and 1500 are generated on the TS.  Event 1500 reports "The system cannot find the file specified.".  

We're running folder redirection with group policy for the AppData, Desktop and My Documents for each AD user.  The default of "local path" is selected for both the AD profile and the RDS profile.  Rebooting doesnt seem to help with the logins.  We have about 25 remote users and yesterday only 4 had an issue and this morning about 1/2 are affected.  

Is there a problem with the registry default profiles or something else at play here?
computerconceptsAsked:
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Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
If i am correct "some" of your users are getting a temp profile when the login to your TS servers? If this is correct, it is possible that there is a Registry Key still present on the TS which is not allowing them to create a new profile. This happens when the profile is corrupted or not properly removed.

I have an article on my site which outlines how to correct this issue. See the link below...
http://www.wsit.ca/technical-solutions/windows-server-2/account-continually-logs-on-with-a-temporary-profile/

Will.
computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
Thanks for your response Will.  I'm still trying to figure out the entire issue here as i'm coming in on the middle of someone else's troubleshooting.  The previous tech gave me the login info a user he's been using to test with.  It looks like all users have a profile reg key in both  HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\ and HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\.  Could that be messing with me, or if i remove it in one key it also removes it in the other?
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
If the profile is corrupt or missing from the c:\users folder, but a registry value it still present in the ProfileList that is your issue. Simply deleting the SID from the ProfileList folder will resolve the issue.

Just refer to my article on my site.

Will.
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computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
I've removed the registry keys for the user and no user profile folder is preset.  I cannot even log in as that user now.  I get "The User Profile service failed the logon.  User profile cannot be loaded. "  I notice a lot of "Account Unknown" under System Properties --> User Profiles.  They are all Local status.  Where as the profiles with names associated with them have the status Backup, on some but not all.  Am I safe to remove the Account Unknown profiles or do I need to find out who they belong to first, if that's even possible.
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
Unknown accounts are fine to be removed. Those accounts that are no longer registered in AD (deleted).

Will.
computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
I guess I'm not following.  I show no SID for the user s.kent.  I show no profile on the TS yet when I log in as that user it gives me a temp profile to use.  Is there something i haven't checked?
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
When you click on each SID you will see in the right hand window pane you will see the ProfileImagePath. This will tell you what profile belongs to each user. If no profile exists in the Registry then it SHOULD create a new profile for this user (as it uses the registry as the indicator).

Have you tried to power cycle the Terminal Server?

Are you getting any specific errors in the event viewer when the user tries to login? It should state why the user is getting a temp profile.

Will.
computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
Have not tried rebooting, I will do that as soon as I can.  As for errors, I'm getting the 1511 and 1505.  1511 just says: Windows cannot find the local profile and is logging you on with a temporary profile. Changes you make to this profile will be lost when you log off.

1510: Windows cannot load the user's profile but has logged you on with the default profile for the system.

 DETAIL - The system cannot find the file specified.
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
There is also another article that states the exact same process as i have illustrated. The article also states that you need to reboot the machine after this is completed. I have not had to reboot in the past, after doing this. However, there might be something cached in memory.

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista/779304-user-profile-service-unable-login.html

Will.
computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
I'm pretty much at a loss here.  I created a new AD user and tried to log in to the TS and it gives me the error:  "The User Profile Service failed the logon.  User profile cannot be loaded." -

The only thing in the log of the TS server is the same 1511 and 1510 from above.  There are 6004 warnings: The winlogon notification subscriber <Profiles> failed a critical notification event.
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
Try the reboot first as I stated there could be specific processes that are stuck in memory. Reboot could resolve this.

Will.
computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
I did reboot :(
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
You try a system restore?

Will.

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computerconceptsAuthor Commented:
Yeah, recovered system state and we're ok now.  Apparently the registry was corrupt.  Thanks for helping me.
Will SzymkowskiSenior Solution ArchitectCommented:
Not a problem, glad to help!

Will.
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Windows Server 2008

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