Windows XP Hostname From File System

Question

How can I determine the hostname of a Windows XP computer from files alone?

I have a full backup of several hard drives, but I'm not sure which one is which.

Answer 1

You could open a copy of the SYSTEM registry file in the Registry Editor and browse to:

CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ActiveComputerName

Answer 2

Plug the drive in as a secondary drive and go to: Start > Run > regedit > under File go to Load Hive > select the secondary drive and browse to \windows\system32\config\. I use

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

The default domain name contains your PC name (even on PCs that are not members of a domain).

Uslackers key also works for this purpose - just remember it is under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and not HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG.