Symantec = Fail or windows cannot load the user's profile

[Migration User]

In verbatim from: http://todd4tech.blogspot.com/2010/10/symantec-fail-or-windows-cannot-load.html#comment-form

"

So I recently started fixing personal computers again recently and remembered why I hate doing it. Anyways I was asked to look at a slow laptop. After taking it home I connected to the internet after noticing it appeared to be virus free. I ran a defrag and it ran some updates.

After doing this and rebooting I saw a screen I didn't like.I was getting aa 16bit 640x480 welcome screen. It gave me the error: windows cannot load the user's profile but has logged you on with the default profile system. Detail - Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service.Ugh and it was giving me an error about bcmwltry.exe. So I rebooted into safe and tried to do a restore. To earlier that day it succeeded but I was getting the same problem. So I tried to before I had touched it and it wouldn't restore. :( I then removed the Dell Wireless utility to at least get rid of the bcmwltry.exe error to see if I would get anymore.

I also created a new user just to check. After rebooting I then selected the new user and get the following error: userinit.exe the application failed to initialize properly 0xc000012d. After looking around I found two forums mentioning Symantec Antivirus as a possible culprit after it had gotten a update of some kind. I am sure while I had it connected to the internet it had done this.

 

So let me state first off. I have already had numerous problems with various versions of Symantec in the past, don't like it and if I have the choice I uninstall  it. I hadn't done this yet because the user had a up-to-date subscription and I hate to remove a product that someone has paid a subscription for.

Continuing on with the story, I went ahead and in safe mode ran msconfig killed all symantec related startup items. Also disabled all the Services. A reboot later and still no go. I took it a step further in Safe mode. I renamed  the following three folders:

 

• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared 
• C:\Program Files\Symantec
• C:\Program Files\Symantec Antivirus

I just added .old to the end of the folders. After a reboot I had the beautiful welcome screen I loved. And guess what, the system was speedy as all get up. That was a good enough excuse for me to remove Symantec. I renamed all three folders back to what they were and did an install of anything Symantec. 

After this I went about my normal computer cleanup steps and installed a free more capable antivirus solution. I predict a very happy client.

 

MORAL OF THE STORY - Beware of Symantec

"

[Migration User]

We've experienced this similar problem.

What we did was upgraded it from SAV 9 to SEP RU6 MP1. By copying the installer to a folder in C:\ and then creating a batchfile to run the installer and added that batchfile on group policies as a startup script. That way, it will remove SAV that might be messing up with the user profile and I'm still not sure how that could be possible.

[Migration User]

Migrating directly from SAV to Ru6MP1 ia not a supported migration path.First you have to migrate to RU6/RU6a,then you have to migrate it to RU6MP1.For more information regarding this you can refer these KBs

 

Migrating to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 RU6

Migrating to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.6100 (RU6 MP1)

[Migration User]

Whoever wrote the "article" never says what version of SAV or SEP was running on the machine. Most likely this was SAV 8 or 9.

Moral of the story: Don't believe everything you read on the interwebs.

[Migration User]

Incorrect. You can absolutely migrate from SAV to RU6MP1.

What you cannot do is migrate from any older version of SEP. IE: MR2, MR3, MR4, RU5, to RU6MP1. In these cases, you must migrate to RU6a first.

[Migration User]

You're right on the probable version he is using because we did experience the same problem with version 9.

And given the fact that this is a fairly recent post, he's a little to late on the version. He should have migrated to at least MR4 since last year.

[Migration User]

Has anyone had similar experience with this? I want to see a probable cause and solution.

[Migration User]

I did a little research into this and found that threats can cause issues with Userinit.exe. It's possible the machine was infected at one time. Can't explain why removing SAV would fix it unless we are trying to scan or clean it, but there is nothing in our KB that I could find that wasn't virus related in one way or another.

[Migration User]

Form the KB Migrating to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 RU6

Migration paths

Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.6 (RU6) can migrate seamlessly over the following:

Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.780.1109/11.0.776.942 (RTM), 11.0.1000.1375 (MR1),      11.0.1006 (MR1 MP1), 11.0.2000.1567 (MR2), 11.0.2010.25 (MR2 MP1), 11.0.2020.56 (MR2 MP2),  11.0.3001.2224 (MR3), 11.0.4000.2295 (MR4), 11.0.4010.19 (MR4 MP1), 11.0.4014.26 (MR4  MP1a), 11.0.4202.75 (MR4 MP2), and 11.0.5002.333 (RU5)

Symantec AntiVirus client and server 9.x and later

Symantec Client Security client and server 2.x and later

From the KB Migrating to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.6100 (RU6 MP1)

Migration paths

Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.6100 (RU6 MP1) can migrate seamlessly over the following: Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.6000.550 (RU6), and 11.0.6005.562 (RU6a).

So from this what I under stand Direct migration from SAV9 to Ru6MP1 is not supported. As you told if it is supported please correct your KB.Otherwise it may mislead other people also 

[Migration User]

I can only assume that since SAV 9 has reached EOL and is no longer supported it's no longer mentioned in our articles.

However, there's absolutely no reason why you can't migrate from SAV 9 or SAV 10 to RU6MP1 due to the fact that the RU6MP1 will be a fresh installation. There is no database schema to worry about with SAV, hence no migration path to worry about.

[Migration User]

Would it help if I sent you the Load Point analysis?

I can't get a crash dump for this problem since the PCs are on a tight deadline. i.e. They have to be returned to the user in working condition as soon as possible.

[Migration User]

Hi all,

Experienced this same issue in our organization. It started on the first week of October,2010  where the number of affected computers grows up every single day.

I have attached the annoying error message that pops up on screen when a user tries to logon on the machine, as well as the event viewer logs taken from the affected machines.

After some researches over the net, I have came across several forums and had somewhat got some ideas/solutions from those. Let me discuss it below.

 

Cause : Insufficient Memory

Symptoms:

1.user profile cannot be loaded.

2. cannot perform some network operations due to resource exhaustion

 

Resolution: Remove SAV 9.

If user can still login on normal mode:

Solution 1: Uninstall SAV on add/remove programs.

If user cannot login on normal mode: (You may use one of these solutions below)

Solution 1: On safemode, create startup script that would install SEP on windows startup, thus removing SAV.

Solution 2: On safemode, rename folders used by symantec

            C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared

            C:\Program Files\Symantec

            C:\Program Files\Symantec Antivirus

Boot on normal mode, rename symantec folders as they were, and uninstall SAV

Solution 3:  On safemode, run chkdisk . Reboot on Normal mode and uninstall SAV.

Solution 4:  On safemode, disable graphic driver.Reboot on Normal mode and uninstall SAV. (not yet tested)

* Note: Root cause of the problem has yet to be identified. But from the forums listed below, they are looking on either the released definitions of Symantec last September, or patches/hotfixes applied on the machines.

Sources:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itproxpsp/thread/2c485e55-2348-45d6-9102-6c2b00e57cf0

http://todd4tech.blogspot.com/2010/10/symantec-fail-or-windows-cannot-load.html

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1123378

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-xp/951819-solved-userinit-exe-problems.html

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1123378&start=40

[Migration User]

Can you try by coping a fresh copy of \windows\system32\userinit.exe to this PC.?

[Migration User]

I'll see if I can do that. So far, no one's reporting the same problem. And I'll also get the Userinit.exe from the broken PC.