Changing the Name of My Computer in Windows XP

Changing the Name of My Computer in Windows XP
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While naming your computer might seem trivial, it can come in handy when sharing information between multiple accounts. Multiple accounts provide bonuses like saving documents under individual My Documents folders that are kept separate from other users and creating personalized My Favorites folders for web pages.

Chances are, when you started your computer for the first time you were asked to choose a name for My Computer. During this process you may have been asked to set other defaults like multiple accounts, account icons, and screen savers, and if you skipped through this process you may have been left with a name like “Default” or “Owner.”

Before you begin, you must be the computer administrator to change any name in My Computer. The computer administrator is usually the primary owner/operator of the computer and can change details like the screen saver, the size and type of display fonts, and can create, delete, all accounts in My Computer.

To change the name of My Computer, the administrator must:

· Click Start in Microsoft Windows. This is the button from which you access All Programs.

· Once the Start menu is visible, click on Control Panel. It is more often than not on the right side of the menu bar.

· From here, click on the Control Panel icon to open the Control Panel window. This window will have options such as Network Setup, Fonts, and Folder Options.

· Click the System or System Properties icon.

· This window will have a series of tabs at the top that include options for restoring your system, scheduling automatic updates, and enabling remote assistance. From here, select the Computer Name tab.

· From here you can change the description, name, and work group name of My Computer. Click on the Change button to rename My Computer.