Changing Your Computer's Name

Here's another fairly important system change that's relatively easy to make. Your computer came from the factory with some sort of default name, or maybe you opted to change the name when you were first setting up Windows. In any case, you're not stuck with that initial name; it's easy enough to change the name of your computer in Windows.

The name you assign your computer is important because that's what other users see when they access your computer over a network.

Here's how to do it:

1. Open the Control Panel and select System.
2. This opens the window, which displays all manner of information about your system-the kind of processor you have, how much memory is installed, and so forth. The current name of your computer is listed here (as Computer Name); click the Change Settings link.
3. When the System Properties dialog box appears, make sure the Computer Name tab is selected.
4. If you want to change the description (not the name-not yet) assigned to your computer, enter a new description into the Computer Description box.
5. To rename your computer, click the Change button.
6. When the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box appears, enter a new name into the Computer Name box.
7. Click OK to save your changes.

The change you make doesn't take effect until you restart your computer. When prompted to do so, click the Restart Now button. On restart, your computer will be known by its new name.

You can also use the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box to change the name of your computer's network workgroup.