Question

I was creating connection string for sql express database dynamically.I wanted to know how to get the name of the server instance running currently in the local machine,programatically using c#.

Answer 1

You can use the following code:

using System;
using Microsoft.Win32;

namespace TestConsoleApp
{
    class Program
    {
      static void Main()
      {
        RegistryKey rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server");
        String[] instances = (String[])rk.GetValue("InstalledInstances");
        if (instances.Length > 0)
        {
           foreach (String element in instances)
           {
              if (element == "MSSQLSERVER")
                 Console.WriteLine(System.Environment.MachineName);
              else
                 Console.WriteLine(System.Environment.MachineName + @"\" + element);
           }
        }
        Console.ReadKey();
      }
    }
}

Edit:

If you wish to get the instances that are in running state, please refer to this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q287737/