Restore: Profile Reset
The user's Windows profile is corrupted or needs to be reset. The machine itself is not rebuilt — only the user profile is deleted and recreated. Machine-level settings remain intact and typically do not need to be re-imported.
Procedure
| Step | Action | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Export user profile (if possible) | If the user can still log in, run a final user-level export to capture the latest state. If the profile is too corrupted, use the last successful backup from the scheduled export job. |
| 2 | Delete the user profile | Remove via System Properties → Advanced → User Profiles → Delete, or delete the profile folder and its registry entry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. |
| 3 | User logs in | Windows creates a fresh default profile. Applications run their first-launch routines and create default configuration. |
| 4 | Import user settings | Use the delayed import approach — wait for first-launch routines to complete, then import. |
Import Command
No mapping file is needed — same machine, same username, same drive letters.
:: Run after first-launch routines complete (2+ minutes after logon)
AppProfileSafe.CLI.exe --import ^
--manifestFile "\\server\backups\%COMPUTERNAME%\%USERNAME%\Manifest.xml" ^
--apps "Firefox-User,Office-User,Chrome-User" ^
--unc-credential-store --silentMode --ignoreRestorePointLimitWhat About Machine Settings?
A profile reset only affects the user's profile folder and HKCU registry hive. Machine-level settings (HKLM, ProgramData, ProgramFiles) are not affected and do not need to be re-imported.
Exception: If the user's profile corruption also caused changes to machine-level configuration (rare), re-run the machine import as well.
Partial Profile Corruption
If only specific applications are affected (e.g. only Outlook's profile is corrupted), you can import selectively:
:: Restore only Outlook user settings
AppProfileSafe.CLI.exe --import ^
--manifestFile "\\server\backups\%COMPUTERNAME%\%USERNAME%\Manifest.xml" ^
--apps "Outlook-User" ^
--unc-credential-store --silentMode --ignoreRestorePointLimitUse --apps to target only the affected applications. Unaffected applications keep their current settings.
See Also
- Handling First-Launch Overwrites — Why the delay before import matters
- Deployment Methods for User Import — How to deliver the import to the user
- Split Jobs by Permission Scope — Ensuring backups are available when needed