• Safely renaming a Win10 (21H1) computer (ie the Hostname)

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    #2453496

    I would like to rename my Win 10 computer which already has quite a few installed software packages and programs.  The machine is not part of any network.

    The registry has over 50 locations that contain the current hostname in both keys and values.

    Will using Win10’s
    Settings > “Rename This PC”
    change all those registry entries (some of which have to do with installed software such as Microsoft Office)  and should I expect “difficulties” after the name change? (software not running properly or even logging back into the machine after a reboot?)

    Is there a “Correct” way to rename a machine and have everything work afterward?
    thanks

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    • #2453539

      In my experience, renaming a computer doesn’t impact, renaming the user account sometimes does if apps are hard coded.

      Take a backup, go into control panel, rename the computer and reboot.

      Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2453549

      There are a few very minor considerations, i.e. reset of any auto-login and changes to account sync and image backup or file history (cautioned in comment #2):

      How to Rename your PC in Windows 10 [TenForums.com Tutorial]

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2453590

      I’ve renamed mine a few times and never had any serious problems.

      Only issue you may encounter is, if you “share” anything over a local network, you’ll need to reset the connections on the other PC’s so they see the “new” name and can connect to it.

      1 user thanked author for this post.
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