Missing NTUSER.DAT in default user folder causes Windows Update Error

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Symptom

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You may receive 0x8007003 errors when installing windows updates.

From Windows Update.log file, you can find the error information as below:

2007-03-17 12:14:47:639 6128 a54 Handler Post-reboot status for package
Package_for_KB932246~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~6.0.1.2: 0x80070003.
2007-03-17 12:14:47:639 6128 a54 Handler WARNING: Got extended error:
"POQ Operation LoadDefaultUserHive"

Cause:

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This error can happen if the ntuser.dat file is missing from the userdefault folder. Some users have deleted it or for some reason it’s missing.

Solution:

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The solution is very simple. Just creating that folder and copying over a ntuser.data in default user folder from another machine.