I cannot live with out using Dragon NaturallySpeaking and I often have to restore a corrupted user profile. The corrupted user profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking is usually caused by a problem on my computer. For example, if I use the Windows operating system tool, system restore, this usually corrupts the user profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The user profile cannot load due to Speech File corruption. The Speech File corruption can be caused by a number of other things as well, including aggressive anti-virus software settings, power surges occurring as Dragon saves the speech files or low memory resources.

The program usually comes up with an error saying that it “cannot load your user profile” and it offers to upgrade it or restore it for you. This is great when it works, but when it doesn’t you need to manually repair your corrupted user profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

To guard against this, I always make a backup of my user profile. Below you will see the instructions on how to do this, but first I will show you how to restore a corrupted user profile when the automatic option does not work.

Manually Restore a Corrupted User Profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking

If the automatic restore process fails within Dragon NaturallySpeaking we then need to restore a corrupted user profile manually. This has worked many times for me as I am prepared and have a backup of my user profile ready to go. I cannot bear the thought of having no backup and having to retrain the program again.

Steps to Restore a Corrupted User Profile

1. Launch Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
2. From the Dragon Bar click “NaturallySpeaking > Manage Users” (in Dragon 11, click “Profile > Manage User Profiles”).
3. Select the user file giving the error so it is highlighted.
4. Click the “Advanced” button.
5. Click on “Restore”.
6. A user named “(USER-NAME) Restored1” will be created.
7. Close out of Manage Users.
8. From the Dragon Bar click “NaturallySpeaking > Open Users” (in Dragon 11, click “Profile > Open User Profile”).
9. Select the restored user.
10. Click on “Open”.
11. The User should now load successfully.

More info from the Nuance website.

How to Backup a User Profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking

To make sure you do not get stuck without a backup user profile I strongly suggest you backup often.

To do this follow these steps:

1. Open Dragon Naturally Speaking.
2. On the DragonBar, go to NaturallySpeaking and then Manage Users.
3. Highlight the user you wish to backup.
4. Click on the Advanced button.
5. In the dialogue box that appears, select the destination for your back-up.
6. Press OK. Your files will now be saved.

I always like to backup so I have no problem when I have to Restore a Corupted User Profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Source: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ds/wiki/index.php/Dragon_Naturally_Speaking