Windows 7: User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation

Something happened to my laptop. When I boot I get an error titled Location is not available with the message "C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable. It could be on a hard drive on this computer, or on a network. Check to make sure that the disk is properly inserted, or that you are connected to the Internet or your network, and then try again. If it still cannot be located, the information might have been moved to a different location."

I know the drive is connected because I can still access all the data on it, so not sure what the problem is. None of my installed programs work either (must have also lost the link to program data?)

I started trying to fix it by getting into Audit mode by entering the command C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe /audit /reboot into an elevated command prompt, but that returns the error "A fatal error occured while trying to sysprep the machine."

I have no idea how to proceed.

Have you tried running this in command prompt before running the sysprep command

Just tried it. Same message "A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine."

Do you have a second partition ? You have to create the partition before you sysprep or even before you install.

Yes, I have two drives installed. C is a Samsung 840 and D is the old HDD. I already had everything successfully setup with user files and program data on D, and then randomly this error started occurring.

Hmmm... I think I just figured out the problem. I went to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList and there were two indentical profiles. I deleted the extra one, rebooted, and now everything seems to be working again.... weird, wonder how that happened.

Did you manually create the folders inside D:\ ? The folders are created when you log in with a user account ?

Nope, I only had my one personal user account, and everything had been created originally using the tutorial instructions and everything was working great for the last month or so.

Somehow that other profile with an identical value had been created in the registry and had to have been what was messing things up, maybe it happened when I installed Microsoft update today?

Maybe ... There was a lot of issues with that update. I hid it from view.