3 Ways to Change Computer Name in Windows 10

January 19, 2016 updated by Admin Leave a reply »

How can I change the name of my Windows 10 computer from Command Prompt? Whatever the reason you want to rename your computer, here’s our step-by-step tutorial on how to change computer name in Windows 10, from Control Panel, PC Settings and Command Prompt.

Method 1: Change Computer Name from Control Panel

  1. To begin, you have to open the Control Panel. Simply press the Windows key + X to open the Quick Access menu and click “Control Panel“.

    open-control-panel

  2. Set the View by option to Large icons. Click on System.

    control-panel

  3. Scroll down to the “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings” section, click on Change settings.

    system-info

  4. The System Properties screen will open with the “Computer Name” tab already selected. Click on the Change… button.

    system-properties

  5. Now type the new name you want in the “Computer name” box and click OK.

    change-computer-name

  6. A restart will be required to complete the name change, and after that, you’re all set!

Method 2: Change Computer Name from PC Settings

  1. Click on Start to access the Start Menu. Select Settings.

  2. When the PC Settings app opens, click on System.

    pc-settings

  3. Go to the About section and then click on “Rename PC“.

    about-system

  4. Type the new name you want to use and click on Next.

    rename-your-pc

  5. You will be prompted to restart your PC to apply your new settings, click on Restart Now to proceed.

Method 3: Change Computer Name from Command Prompt

Looking for a way to change Windows 10 host name via command line? Here’s how to rename Windows 10 computer name from Command Prompt (cmd):

  1. Press the Windows key + X to open the Quick Access menu. Click on Command Prompt (Admin).

    command-prompt-admin

  2. In the Command Prompt, you can use the WMIC computersystem command to change your computer name easily, assuming you know the current computer name.
    WMIC computersystem where caption='current_pc_name' rename new_pc_name

    Replace current_pc_name with your current computer name, and new_pc_name with your desired new computer name.

    rename-pc-name-from-command

  3. After running the command, you need to reboot the computer to make the changes effective.

This method works on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP and Windows Server 2012/2008/2003. This command can also be used from a batch file to rename any Windows computer, including domain-joined machines.

Besides changing the name of a local computer, you can also use WMIC command to rename a remote computer on the same network. For example, if want to rename a remote PC named Jon-Laptop to Jon-Tech and you know the login credentials, then type this command in the Command Prompt:

WMIC /node:"Jon-Laptop" /user:Admin /password:password123 computersystem call rename "Jon-Tech"

The value following /node: indicates the name of the remote computer on the LAN. The value following /user: must be an admin account on the remote computer.