Can't get past the login screen even with a correct password

I recently upgraded a 2010 MacBook Pro to Mountain Lion, and it's worked fine for the most part. Today, however, upon waking up from sleep, the laptop won't go past the login screen. I enter the correct password, hit Enter... and the focus on the password box goes away, and nothing happens.

Note that the password box doesn't shake, as it does when the password is incorrect. I'm entering the right password, it just won't dismiss the login screen.

Anyone else have this problem, and find a solution other than a hard reset?

(Unlike this question, three-finger swiping accomplishes nothing.)

Solution 1:

It looks like that User's folder got corrupted somehow, and the System doesn't know what to show and load, as It wasn't there.

Try logging with other user or a Disk Repair / Repair Permissions, through the Recovery Partition.

Solution 2:

I get this as well. The only workaround is to do a hard reboot. Even logging in as guest user, then logging back to your regular user doesn't work.

It's not a user folder corruption issue as the Thecafremo says because I (and it sounds like, you) can get in after a hard reboot. Also, I recently happened to do my period disk volume repair and this issue recurred after the repair process.