When a user logs on to a Windows 9x/Me machine, the local profile path, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList, is checked for an existing entry for that user.

If the user has an entry in this registry location, Windows 9x/Me checks for a locally cached version of the user profile. Windows 9x/Me also checks the user's home directory (or other specified directory if the location has been modified) on the server for the user profile. If a profile exists in both locations, the newer of the two is used. If the user profile exists on the server but does not exist on the local machine, the profile on the server is downloaded and used. If the user profile only exists on the local machine, that copy is used.

If a user profile is not found in either location, the default user profile from the Windows 9x/Me machine is used and copied to a newly created folder for the logged on user. At log off, any changes that the user made are written to the user's local profile. If the user has a roaming profile, the changes are written to the user's profile on the server.