I'm looking for a way to change the hostname and IP address of a Windows XP system that is mounted via a loop-back image on a Linux system. So basically I have access to the Windows XP system on a file level, but I cannot execute any programs on it. A way similar to editing the /etc/hostname and whatever network configuration file under Linux.
The only ways I've found so far would include running a tool after boot, e.g. MS sysprep or use a solution like Acronis Snap Deploy.
You can use chntpw tool to edit Windows registry offline. Here's an example of how to use it.
The keys you're looking for are these:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Current Control Set\
Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{<Interface GUID>}
Under your interface's GUID you'll find many keys, the ones you need are:
IPAddress (REG_MULTI_SZ) = x.x.x.x
SubnetMask (REG_MULTI_SZ) = x.x.x.x
DefaultGateway (REG_MULTI_SZ) = x.x.x.x
Do take a look at the rest of they keys in there, you might find some interesting information.