If someone wants to redirect me to a better spot to ask, feel free. If someone wants to help out though, feel free to do that too.

So here's the deal, when I start up my laptop, when it first gets to windows, windows doesn't load. Instead, a small window pops up that says "Windows cannot load the users profile but has logged you on with a default profile. Details: Insufficient system resources exist to complete requested service."

Then once I click past that window, I get another window that says "user init.exe - Application error. Application failed to initialize. Click OK to terminate."

And so windows never loads. Any advice to fix this? Thanks all.

Seems something of your hardware has failed. Probably RAM.


You can't really be sure of what failed so you'll have to take it to a shop. Try a system restore first, if you want.

Doesn't at all sound like a hardware problem, sounds more like a registry problem. I suspect your either missing or the file ntuser.dat was corrupted.

insufficient system resources ?

Windows lies.

quote The Haz

Seems something of your hardware has failed. Probably RAM.

I'm not a huge hardware guy but your computer should continually beep if the RAM has malfunctioned, right?

Depends how screwed up it is.

Yeah. ^ that


If all of the RAM screwed up then he'd be stuck on a loop when starting up, but if only one stick did then it'd be like a third wheel and would only be 'in the way' of the others performance if you like.

So is the verdict then that it needs to be taken in to be repaired?

It's an old comp anyway. Is there some way to recover/download all the files on the computer so that I can just throw it away afterward instead of paying for repairs?

You should probably get/use an external hard drive.

Other than that, i'm not sure of an efficient AND cost effective way

I own an external hard drive. So how do I go about recovering that stuff?

Wait, do you want to save the stuff on your current (the broken) computer ?


If so, then just move the files you want to keep on the external HDD.

Yeah but if I can't access the main hard drive, or at least can't get into windows, how do I go about doing that? Are there steps when the comp first boots up?

Try tapping the F8 key when your PC is booting up. Then choose to go into 'Safe Mode'. If it's a hardware problem, that may not work, but it's worth a shot. You also might want to try 'Last known configuration that worked' from the same F8 menu.

aghh i get you.


Look closely as its starting up, and one of the first screens will give you a button to press to enter boot mode or something like that.

it's either f10, f12, or something near that. editOR F8

Then when you get there choose 'safe mode'