Change your Computer's Name with PowerShell

When it comes to your computer, there are typically two names associated with it. One is your account name; this is the name you have assigned to your account when you log into your computer. The second is the actual computer name. When you look at a network with multiple computers connected, you might see a wide variety of names, such as 'Wilma Desktop' or something more confusing such as 'WIN-AW09062006.' These are the names associated with specific computers connected to the same network as your computer.

What if you want your computer's name to change? Perhaps you inherited someone else's previous computer, and it still has their name, or you want something a bit more unique. It is important to understand that what we are referring to here is the name given to your computer. While you might have multiple accounts or users using your computer, the computer's name does not change with regards to the user logged in on that computer.

We have discussed previously how to change a computer's name, in which we used the Control Panel to change the name. As with most things on a computer, there is more than one way to do something. Another way to do this is by using PowerShell.

There are two things to keep in mind before changing your computer's name using PowerShell. First, write down your computer's current name. If something does not work correctly after changing your name you can change it back if needed. Second, these steps assume that you have PowerShell set to be shown in the secondary Windows menu. If not, look at this article explaining how to configure PowerShell to be shown on that menu.

1. Right-click on the Start button. Windows displays the secondary Windows Start menu.
2. Choose Windows PowerShell (Admin). (Make sure it is the Admin option, not the Windows PowerShell option without the Admin privileges.) Windows displays the User Account Control asking if you want to allow changes to be made.
3. Click Yes. The dialog box disappears, and the PowerShell command prompt window is displayed. The window will say Administrator in the top-left corner.
4. At the command prompt, type the following and then press Enter. You can also copy and paste the command directly into the PowerShell command prompt. You need to change the last part of the command, "Computer-Name," to what you want your computer's name to be.

Rename-Computer -NewName "Computer-Name"

5. Close the PowerShell command prompt window.
6. Restart your computer for the name change to take effect.

It is important to remember that if you are part of a network administered by an IT administrator, you may not be able to modify or change your name. If that is the case, contact your system administrator to see if they can assist you.

 This tip (13808) applies to Windows 10.