renaming the pc's

[lionsl2005]

hi, the previous company which was set up the network named the pcs according to their wish, i coudnt identyfy which matchine belongs to which room / suit? i wd like to rename it according to the room, ex.. ICT roon - ict 1, ict 2 ....., how do i do it ?

[k-strider]

some one will correct me if i am wrong.. but i think this is a manual job really

Assume PCs are XP should work in Vista too in an AD env.
log onto the PC as the local Admin (not a domain acount it doesn't always work)
1) right click my comp -> Properties
2) Computer Name Tab press Change
3) chaneg the Name there.. (it will be reflected in AD)
4) when prompted for credentials pass a domain admins usr/pwd or at least someone who can alter computer objects.
Reboot..

we name ours roomXXYY with XX being the room number ie 01 02.. 43 and YY being the PC number 01 02..99

[powdarrmonkey]

k-strider is right. If your machines aren't part of a domain, you won't be prompted for credential near the end.

[altecsole]

If they're a member of your domain you can use the following command in a batch file to rename computers over the network:

netdom renamecomputer %1 /newname:%2 /userd:DOMAIN_NAME\%3 /passwordd:%4 /usero:administrator /passwordo:LOCAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD /reboot:10 /force

Where:
%1 is old computer name
%2 is new computer name
%3 is domain admin user name
%4 is domain admin password

So, assuming the command is saved in a batch file called 'rename.cmd'. To rename a computer from 'comp1' to 'room7-01' you'd enter the following at the command prompt:

rename comp1 room7-01 domain_admin_user domain_admin_password

[Oops_my_bad]

Or..

Name them the same as your asset tag (for example) then all you have to do is update your inventory/AD descriptions rather than renaming the whole PC

[lionsl2005]

If they're a member of your domain you can use the following command in a batch file to rename computers over the network:

netdom renamecomputer %1 /newname:%2 /userd:DOMAIN_NAME\%3 /passwordd:%4 /usero:administrator /passwordo:LOCAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD /reboot:10 /force

Where:
%1 is old computer name
%2 is new computer name
%3 is domain admin user name
%4 is domain admin password

So, assuming the command is saved in a batch file called 'rename.cmd'. To rename a computer from 'comp1' to 'room7-01' you'd enter the following at the command prompt:

rename comp1 room7-01 domain_admin_user domain_admin_password

Thank you very much, much appriciated

[altecsole]

You're very welcome.

[dwimorberg]

Hiya, sorry to hijack your thread! Just wondering what OS that batch file runs in? I can't seem to get it to work.

Cheers,
Michael

[altecsole]

Windows XP. However, I should have mentioned that you'll probably need to download the Windows XP Support Tools first. You can find them at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

[lionsl2005]

OHH its kool, i misse that anyway,,,,,,,

[k-strider]

Do'h should have thought of NetDom we use that to script adding pcs to our AD in the correct OU after we have ghosted and newsid'd them...

[dwimorberg]

That's cracking, thanks

It's going to save me a lot of legwork!

[Crispin]

Hey all,

For some reason Im having trouble getting this command to work. Im running XP SP3 with support tools installed.

When running the command, I get a:

"The network path was not found"
"The command failed to complete successfully"

Ive run this from the usual command prompt and also from the support tools directory.

Anyone have any idea? Ive checked the syntax and im sure its correct.

We have a split site here and its damn annoying having to drive 1.5 miles away just to change a computer name! Would really like to get this working.

Cheers.

[SYNACK]

Do you have remote administration exceptions turned on in the firewall in your GPOs. By default a lot of these tools won't work without an exception being configured:

In the workstation GPO:
Computer Config -> Administrative Templates -> Network Connections -> Windows Firewall -> Domain Profile: Windows Firewall Allow inbound Remote Administration Exception : Enabled

then just add the host or subnet that you want to be able to manage it from in the textbox inside its properties

[Crispin]

Thanks synack, I will have a look tomorrow morning and see if thats the issue!