ChinaRider001 wrote:
"You are unable to login to user account at this time. Logging in to the account failed because of an error"
I suspect it has something to do with the user home directory being on an external drive
Very likely, but it is hard to say due to such a cryptic error message. I know this type of setup is no longer considered stable & reliable ever since Apple began breaking it with macOS 12.x Monterey update patches, although I think they stopped breaking it later. Custom configurations like this will more than likely break at any time these days since macOS does not like to deviate from system defaults these days.
What is the exact model of this Mac and version of macOS used? You can get the exact model by entering the system serial number here:
Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support
Did you just move the home folder to the external drive or has it been configured this way for a while & working properly from the external drive? If the latter, then what recently changed....perhaps an OS update or upgrade?
If you are running macOS 14.x Sonoma and you don't have any other macOS admin user accounts, then all you can do is reinstall macOS since Apple now prevents tricking macOS into running Setup Assistant again.
