If you’re a Windows user, you know how to find your PC’s host name from the command prompt. If you’re not a Windows user, or if you’re using a different operating system, here’s how to do it:

  1. Open the command prompt and type “netstat -an”. This will show you all the network connections on your PC.
  2. Look for the line that says “Host Name”. This line will be in the form “HOSTNAME:PORT”. For example, if your PC is named “PC1”, then the line would look like this: netstat -an | grep HOSTNAME:1025

Note: If you haven’t already, be sure to read our complete guide to networking Windows 7 with XP and Vista.

To see the hostname… all you have to do is type hostname at the command prompt. Go figure, eh?

The same thing works in Linux or OS X, though you can see that most of the time the hostname is part of the prompt anyway. Note: you can also change the hostname by simply typing “hostname ”.

Of course, the easiest way to see your computer name in Windows is to just hit the Win+Break key combination, which will pop up the System pane from Control Panel.

 

If you want to change it instead, you can always change your computer name easily through Control Panel.