Group Policy Client service failed the sign-in. Access is denied" error. I can sign in with another user's creds without a problem

Question

Group Policy Client service failed the sign-in. Access is denied" error. I can sign in with another user's creds without a problem

Answer 1

Hello Jerome Moore,

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

The "Group Policy Client service failed the sign-in. Access is denied" error often indicates an issue with the user profile or permissions.

Here are some steps you can take to resolve the issue:

Step 1: Restart Your Computer - Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve temporary issues with the Group Policy service.

Step 2: Check User Profile Service

1.Sign in with Administrator account (which you mentioned works fine).

2.Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.

3.Type services.msc and press Enter.

4.Locate the User Profile Service.

5.Ensure it is running. If not, right-click and select Start.

Step 3: Check Permissions

1.Sign in with Administrator account.

2.Navigate to C:\Users\ and find the folder for the affected user.

3.Right-click the folder and select Properties.

4.Go to the Security tab and ensure that the appropriate permissions are set for the user account.

Step 4: Repair the User Profile

1.Sign in with another user account.

2.Press Win + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

3.To back up the registry, type regedit and press Enter.

4.Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.

5.Find the SID (Security Identifier) for the affected user (it will start with S-1-5-21-).

6.Backup the SID folder by exporting it (Right-click on it and select Export).

7.Check if the ProfileImagePath matches the affected user's profile path.

8.If you see a .bak entry, rename it (e.g., remove the .bak).

Step 5: Create a New User Profile If the above steps do not work, you might need to create a new user profile and transfer the data:

1.Sign in with another user account.

2.Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users.

3.Select Add someone else to this PC and follow the instructions to create a new user.

4.Sign in with the new user account and transfer any necessary files from the old profile (located in C:\Users\).

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Daisy Zhou

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