Windows 8, group policy client service failed sign in

Question

Hello,

I'm running Windows 8 Professional, and in the last couple of days have experienced random errors trying to login.

Firstly, when I log in as a standard user, I get the message "Group policy client service failed sign in", and cannot login.  If I try to log in as Administrator I can log in but Windows recreates the profile from scratch and when I get to the start menu I have no apps displayed, and cannot find any programs via search.  This problem has happened twice now, and it seems to temporarily fix itself after rebooting, however this morning it took 4 reboots to fix.

I also get the error "Windows couldn't connect to the system event notification service", and again this seems to fix itself after a few reboots.

I have scanned my SDD on which the OS installed and there are no reported errors.

I am worried that on the next reboot the problem will revert and will not be fixable.  Please can you tell me how to fix this.

Kind regards,

Matthew

Answer 1

OK, guys, I already posted solution in other threads and it is for Windows 7. But, It looks like it is exactly the same issue, and a very wide-spread one - caused by crash during reboot initiated by Windows Update.  I am re-posting here.  If someone can test on Windows 8 would be great.  If you need my help let me know - I am actually very interested in testing it on Windows 8.

I had this issue on my laptop since November, and it really bugged me.  I sifted through the event log and found the pattern of events that preceded the issue, and, probably, caused it.

In short, the pattern is as follows: Windows updates run automatically as scheduled, and when reboot is initiated after the updates are finished, the computer crashes (probably during reboot sequence).  When it boots up, it reports that the last shutdown was unexpected, and the issue begins to occur.

I spent 2 days trying to dig out a solution from the Internet, to no avail, until I came across this page.  It doesn't say anything about this particular problem, but it gives more information about SVCHOST process that starts many services, including Group Policy Client.  It looks like during reboot a vital registry settings were lost during crash and Group Policy Client "doesn't know" how to start.  Let me explain:

There are two places to look in the registry:

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services this path should contain gpsvc key (a folder), which is responsible for service parameters and configuration.  I found that the key was intact, so, you do not touch anything here - just check that the key exists.
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SVCHOST This is the most important path you should look into, as it must contain the keys and values referred in the key #1.  Below are descriptions what must be present there.

• There must be Multi-String value called GPSvcGroup. My laptop was missing it.  So, you should create multi-string value named GPSvcGroup and assign it value GPSvc.
• Next, you must create a key (a folder) and name it GPSvcGroup - this key normally should be there, but, again, it was missin on my laptop.
• Then open newly-created GPSvcGroup folder and create 2 DWORD values:

1. First called AuthenticationCapabilities and you must give it a value of 0x00003020 (or 12320 in decimal)
2. Second is called CoInitializeSecurityParam and it must have value of 1.

Once you complete all steps above, reboot the computer and the problem will be fixed.

Here is the link to the video walkthrough if you have any troubles understanding what has to be done:http://youtu.be/4m5KEmckWK4

http://youtu.be/4m5KEmckWK4

Answer 2

Dude, so many thanks.

Upgraded to Windows 8.1 from 8.0, experienced significant performance degradation. As I worked through some other lists of troubleshooting I created a new user. Attempting to login with that user resulted in this error and then I found your answer.

100% the issue in this case. Solved in only a few hours as a result.

MS really needs to have a fixpack that looks for this problem.

Answer 3

Hi I tried all of these fixes and restarted my computer yet none of them work.  I've checked over my work multiple times and I've done it exactly as described here, in the YOUTUBE video, etc.  No luck.

Any other ideas? I'm not even how to get in touch with Microsoft to have them address this issue without me paying for it.

This is exactly why I'm thinking of switching to MAC and never bothering with WINDOWS again.

Answer 4

You are life saver, thanks for the providing the solution.

Answer 5

I really appreciate your post and the others after it.  I am just furious with microsoft though.  I just called for help with this and was told that they've never heard of this issue (which I told them happened after installing windows updates and which I described quite clearly as all the other users!) and that he just knows it's due to a virus (which of course I don't have per my virus protection).  BUT FOR $99 HE CAN FIX IT FOR ME!  So angry!  So I should pay Microsoft $99 to fix a problem with THEIR product that THEY created?  I will try everyone's suggestions here and hope it works.  Thanks again PS using windows 8