Changes to your roaming user profile are not saved when you log off and then log on to a Windows Server 2003-based computer

You log on to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer as an administrator, and then you make changes to your roaming user profile. When you log off and then log on to the computer, sometimes the changes that you made to your user profile are not saved. You receive error messages that are similar to the following in the Application log: You may experience these symptoms after you install a printer.

This problem occurs if the handles to the following registry subkeys are kept open by the Printer Spooler service (Spoolsv.exe):

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\CA
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Root
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Trust
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\My
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates

The open handles prevent the user profile from unloading correctly.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit editions

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit edition

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For additional information about standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: