When we buy a new PC or a new Mac we hardly take care of assigning a unique name to the device, since we are unlikely to use programs where you need to access network resources.If, on the other hand, the computer is used in an office, a unique name must be configured to clearly and precisely identify each location present, so that it can be controlled remotely with ease and access to shared network resources.
Just to meet this type of need in this brief guide we will show you how change name on a Windows PC or Mac, so as to recognize them immediately as soon as we access the corporate network.
How to change your computer name
In the following chapters we will show you why it can be very useful to change the name of the computer and we will also show you the steps to be performed on a PC with Windows 10, a computer with an earlier version of Windows (8.1 and 7) and finally how to change the name of the Mac.
Because it is necessary to change the name of the PC
Changing the name of a device like the computer is very useful for making it identifiable in a network (LAN network).
The name by which a computer is recognized or any device that can connect to a network, it’s called hostname: you can, for example, open the log of connections on the router to check all the connected computers identified with their hostname.
On Windows PCs the choice of the computer name occurs during the installation phase, except in Windows 10 where the name is automatically assigned randomly.
On Mac, the computer name is chosen when creating the first account, but it can be changed at any time.
Change the name of a PC with Windows 10
Microsoft has simplified the Windows 10 installation process so that all users can proceed with this change with just a few mouse clicks.
To change the name of the PC with Windows 10 we open the menu Start at the bottom left, we open the app Settings, let’s go to the menu System and then on the menu System information.
In the screen that will appear, press the button Rename PC and write the new computer name. At the end of the change we restart the computer to make the changes effective.
Change the name of a PC with Windows 7 and 8.1
If we use a PC with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 we can quickly change the computer name (i.e. the hostname) by starting the keyboard shortcut Win + R and typing sysdm.cpl.
At the end of the modification we press down on OK, then on again OK and finally we restart the PC to make the changes effective. From the same window we can also change the user group to which the system responds: for home or small office use it is fine WORKGROUP, while in the larger corporate networks the domain name must be entered (provided by the network administrator, who usually already prepares the computers to respond with the prefixed domain names).
These steps from the Control Panel can also be performed on Windows 10, since the screens actually have not changed (we can use it as a backup method if something goes wrong with the quick method seen above).
On all Windows PCs it is also possible change or add PC information on the seller name and logo, so as to make it personalized.
Change computer name on Mac
If we own a Mac, the option to change the name can be found by opening the app System Preferences in the Dock or by pressing on the top left on the Apple symbol, clicking on the menu Sharing and choosing the new name in the text field next to the entry Computer name.
Once the change has been made, we restart the Mac to see the new name applied to the computer; for professional needs we can also press the button Edit and change the sub-network name, so as to make the Mac accessible in multiple networks or configured with sub-networks or various domains.
How to display the names of all PCs on the LAN
In this chapter we will show you in detail how to check the names of all the computers on the LAN, so as to check if someone needs to be changed. The easiest way to do this type of verification (on a PC with Windows 10) is to open the app File Explorer and click on the item Network, so you can immediately view all the computers compatible with Windows file sharing.
If the computer name does not appear, we can access the configuration panel of our modem / router and check the names of each connected device.
Alternatively we can use a network scanning program such as Advanced IP Scanner, available for free for any version of Windows.
Once the program is open, just press on Scan to view the names of all connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, printers, scanners, TVs and modems (which in this case act as Gateway).
To try other programs similar to the one above, just read our guide Network and IP scanners to find connected computers.
Conclusions
Changing the name of a computer is not a common operation, but it is better to know exactly how to do it if we share files or folders on the network or if we often work in an office where there are many shared computers on the network, so that we can always keep order and recognize each machine.
To become a great network sharing expert, we recommend you read our guide now Share files between PCs and see shared folders (Windows, Mac, Linux).
If, on the other hand, we need a space shared between all the PCs on the network where we can store our personal files, we can read our insights Connect a disk to the router to share files on the network is Buying a Network Storage NAS: what is it for and how much it costs.