group policy client service failed on independent laptop

slabo · 08 Sep 2014

Hi,

I have a laptop with all the latest updates installed. Legally licensed Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit ed. Running Avast anti virus.

Last thing I did was install a single windows update, I don't remember the update's number, but I remember the download size was less than 2Mb. I don't think the update has anything to do with this.. After successfully installing and rebooting, the laptop boots up normally and I get to the logon screen. After I enter my password I get the following error::

the group policy client service failed the logon access is denied

Most of the posts I've found online are for computers part of a domain. For independent machines, the common advice is to logon with another user, which I don't have. What I've tried so far ::

boot to repair mode and create another user and add to users group via command prompt >> user still not showing on logon screen
boot to repair mode and create another user with administrator rights via command prompt >> user still not showing on logon screen
Boot to repair mode and scanning hard drive >> clean
Repair startup 3 consecutive times >> same error message
boot to safe mode >> same problem

Then I narrowed down the problem ::

boot to repair mode and run regedit. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\gpsvc key data == %windir%\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs instead of GPSvcGroup

ok this explains things. So I change it as per Fix: The Group Policy Client Service Failed The Logon In Windows 8

Reboot, and still the same error message. I get back into repair mode and check the registry again, apparently the changes haven't been applied and svchost still running with the netsvcs parameter instead of GPSvcGroup

Any idea how to solve this?

Any help appreciated,
thanks

Ztruker · 09 Sep 2014

You can enable the hidden Administrator account from WinRE (the recovery environment) then login as Administrator, create a new account, copy everything from the old to the new, test then delete the old, corrupted account.

See here for how to enable the hidden Administrator account. Ignore the last part about changing passwords.

User Account Password - Change from WinRE

See here for setting up a new account and copying from old to new.

Fix a corrupted user profile - Windows Help

Note: Before you can copy anything, you must first logon with the new profile by logging off the current one and logging on with the new one or using Fast User Switching to logon to the new one without logging off of the old one. That establishes the file structure under C:\Users for the new account.

Ztruker · 09 Sep 2014

If you do not have a Windows 7 installation DVD, or it's not up to the Service Pack level currently installed, you can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here:

Windows 7 Direct Download Links

Make sure you get the same version you have, Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate and 32 or 64 bit. Note that Basic or Starter is not available.

I recommend using ImgBurn at 4X speed (or the slowest available) to create the DVD from the downloaded .iso file. Just be careful during the install not to accidentally install some of the bundled junk that comes with it. Always take The Custom Install option.

You can do this on any computer capable of burning a DVD.

YOU MUST HAVE A VALID KEY TO INSTALL THIS .ISO.
The one on the COA sticker on your computer will work.
If you are just using the Recovery Console you do not need a key.

You can also create a bootable USB Flash drive (4GB or larger) to install Windows 7 from.

Download and run Universal USB Installer Easy as 1 2 3
Select Windows 7 from the first drop down list, all the way to the bottom
Select the downloaded Windows 7 iso file
Select your USB flash drive
Click Create