Windows Server 2016: PC name (host name) change procedure

The PC name (host name) is an identifier used as the name of a computer or server. We recommend a maximum length of 63 bytes for the PC name and a maximum of 15 characters.

Immediately after OS installation, it is automatically composed of “WIN-” + “random alphanumericals”. The default value of the host name does not affect the operation, but in many companies, the host name is changed in order to manage the user’s personal computer in an easy-to-understand manner. This time, I will explain how to change the computer name of Windows Server 2016 and how to check it using the command prompt (cmd) as a supplement.

Windows Server 2016: PC name (host name) change

Step 1:
Right-click on the Windows mark at the bottom left of your desktop –> select System.

Step 2:
Select Change settings.

Step 3:
Computer Name tab -> Select Change.

Step 4:
Enter the computer name you want to change-> select OK.

・Names containing spaces or special characters (for example, <>;: “_ * = |? +, \) Cannot be set.
・It cannot be set to the same name as the workgroup name.

When I entered a special character, _ (underscore) and checked it, an error screen was output saying “non-standard characters This might cause problems with some applications or network hardware.” Use computer names with letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens (-) as standard characters.