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If the person is facing any legal ramifications from the accusations of impropriety, you accessing the hard drive in any way could be considered tampering with evidence. I would suggest you consider carefully if you are willing to put yourself in the middle of such a situation and possibly risk your own reputation in the process. I personally wouldn't even put one of my fingerprints on that hard drive let alone hook it up to my computer to do anything based on this information.
That said, a user name could be stored any number of places depending on the actual way a person logged in. AOL desktop software, AIM standalone program, web based AIM, via a multi-protocol client. You must also remember that just trying to login to a particular screen name, regardless of whether you are successful may (depending on your preference settings) leave a useless stored login on a machine that might appear as if it had been used when, it had not. Someone deceitful has any number of anonymous ways to reach web based sites and login that may not leave direct traces on a machine. Users can also login from cell phones, so no traces on a computer does not make one impervious to blame either.
I'm afraid it's not possible for me to answer the specific question. If it is a legal situation, lawyers can subpoena records from AOL and an ISP or cellular carrier to prove (or disprove) what they need.
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