How to find your computer name and change it

There will be times when you need to know your computers name. This is not the same as your user name. You might use your computer name to share files and printers on your home network and sometimes the default computer name is just too difficult to remember. This is the number one reason for changing your computer name. If you are using the computer name to setup a shared printer you will need to rename your computer something easy. You do not want a string of numbers and letters.

How to find your computer name and change it?

1. Press the Windows key and the Pause Break button at the same time. How easy is that? Applies to Windows Xp and Vista.
2. Or go to Start menu>control panel>system (For Vista you can get more details by clicking on the items in the left bar menu.)
3. Or go to the Start Menu and right-click on My Computer and select Properties (For Vista its not my Computer but just computer)

To get a similar dialog box, as above, to appear in Vista you need to look a bit further. When you open system properties as in the steps above, you also need to click on a menu item in the left panel. For example, you can click on Advanced Options. This will bring up a dialog box like the Windows XP one.

You can also see your computer name  in System properties as the arrow shows below. And here you can click on change settings to change your computer name.

Where is the name of your computer?

1. Choose computer name from the tab
2. And there it is in small writing…If it is a difficult or overly long name click on change. Change your computer name to something easy. Mine is called ‘server’ See screenshot below.

Can I change the computer name and still keep all of my files?

Changing your computer name will not effect your files on your computer. The will stay where they are, untouched and safe. Changing the name of your computer may effect your network settings. For example if you are sharing a printer and the path to the printer is \\frank\hpprinter and you change Frank to Dennis it will not find the printer.

Notes:

• Windows Vista displays the computer name on the first page of the system properties.
• When networking or sharing files you can either use your computer IP Address or your computer name.
• All computers on the Network should have different names and IP address’s to avoid conflicts.