"Failed to load Terminal Server Profile path" event message is logged on a Windows Server 2003-based computer

The following event is logged on your Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer when a user logs on to a terminal server session:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Winlogon
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1218
User: N/A
Computer:
Description: Failed to load Terminal Server Profile path. Note that the profile path must be less than 256 characters in length.
User Name: User_Name
Domain: Domain_Name

Note The terminal server session behaves as expected when this event is recorded. The user does not receive an error message or experience a loss in functionality that is related to this event.

This issue may occur when the terminal server user is a member of a local security group that has only Guest user rights.

This event can be safely ignored. However, you can resolve this issue by increasing the user rights for the local security group that the terminal server user belongs to. Alternatively, you can move the user to a group that has more user rights. If the user is also a member of a security group with more user rights, you can also remove the user from the limited group.

Important Before you increase user rights for a user or for a security group, make sure you understand the security implications.

To increase the user rights for a user's local security group, follow these steps:

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
2. Double-click the user account that triggers the symptom that is described in this article.
3. On the Member Of tab, note which security groups are listed.
4. Double-click each security group that this user is a member of, and then see if the user is a member only of the Guests security group.
5. When you identify the security group that is limited to Guest user rights, use one of the following methods to solve this problem:
   • Remove the user from this security group.
   • Increase the user rights of this group by making it a member of a group with fewer restrictions. For example, remove the Guests security group, and then add the Users security group on the Member Of tab.
   
   Important Make sure that you understand the security implications of any changes that you make to user or group user rights.