Microsoft KB Archive/320930

= You receive an error message when you install or start Visual Studio .NET or Visual Studio 2005: &quot;Unable to pre-create directory for profile files&quot; =

Article ID: 320930

Article Last Modified on 3/7/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual J# .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * MSDN 2003 Universal Edition

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This article was previously published under Q320930



SYMPTOMS
When you try to install or start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, you may receive the following error message:

Unable to pre-create directory for profile files



CAUSE
This issue may be caused by either of the following conditions:
 * This issue may occur after the default Full Control for Everyone and Administrator in the Profile folder file structure has been changed. Note that this can only occur in an NTFS file system.
 * This issue may occur if the profiles are missing.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods:
 * Correct the file permissions for the user's profile and the All Users folder. Use (as a minimum) Read permissions. As with all folders, the local administrator must have Full Control.

Note You do not have to remove Visual Studio .NET or Visual Studio 2005 and you do not have to install either version again. You also do not have to complete a repair on Visual Studio .NET or Visual Studio 2005. None of these processes can resolve this issue.
 * Make sure that the profiles are not missing. The user profile folder is located in:
 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0: :\WinNT\Profiles\ \
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP: :\Documents and Setting\ \
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP that have been upgraded from Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition: :Windows\Profiles\ \
 * Make sure that the All Users profile is not missing. The All Users profile folder is located in:
 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0: :\WinNT\Profiles\All Users\
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP: :\Documents and Setting\All Users\
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP that have been upgraded from Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition: :Windows\Profiles\All Users\

