Symptom
- You see alert messages in Macintosh Manager, but their origin is unclear or unknown.
- Privileges are not enforced as expected.
- Network Assistant indicates that you have added a computer that you know you have not added.
- Apple Remote Desktop displays incorrect information and "unavailable" workstations.
Solution
One or more client computers may have the same name, as defined in the Computer Name field. This is located in the Sharing pane of System Preferences for Mac OS X, and in the File Sharing control panel for earlier Mac OS versions. This name is used for AppleTalk and SLP applications, such as Chooser, Connect to Server, and Network Browser.
When File Sharing is turned off at the computers with duplicate names, they affect Macintosh Manager, Network Assistant, and Apple Remote Desktop, but otherwise appear to work normally. If File Sharing is enabled on pre-Mac OS X systems, an alert message indicates that the name is already in use on the network.
To resolve or prevent the issue, be sure that each computer has a unique computer name.