In Windows 7, where are Microsoft Security IDs (SIDs) located within the Registry?

• A. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
• B. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList
• C. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\setup
• D. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Configuration

Answer: (D)

The important concept here is where Windows maps each user’s security identifier to their profile in the Registry. In Windows 7, that mapping lives under the ProfileList area of the Registry. Specifically, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList contains subkeys named by each user’s SID (such as S-1-5-21-...). Inside each SID-named subkey you’ll find values that tie the SID to the actual user profile on disk, like the ProfileImagePath.

The other locations listed don’t serve this purpose. NetworkList handles network identifications, setup relates to installation, and Configuration stores various system settings. None of those store the per-user SID mappings used for profiles. So the SID-to-profile mapping is found under ProfileList.