Responder: Changing a Macintosh Network Name




Article Change History
----------------------
05/14/92 - RETITLED
* For clarity.
08/25/92 - REVIEWED
* For technical accuracy.



A customer has a Macintosh set up as a workstation on an AppleShare
network. When the Responder asked them to name the computer, they did that.
Now they need to change the name on that computer that the Responder
recognizes. We can't get Responder to allow them to rename the drive. None
of the following worked:

- deleting the Responder file and copying a new one to the system.

- deleting the Responder file and then reinstalling from the system
installation disks.

- starting up from a system floppy, deleting the System, Finder, and
Responder files, then reinstalling the system.

There is no need to throw away any files to change the network name of a
Macintosh. The procedure differs, depending on the version of System
software:

- With System 6, the easiest way to rename the Macintosh is to open the
Chooser and type a new name in the "User Name:" field. The new name is
not used until the Macintosh is restarted.

- With System 7, open the Sharing Setup control panel and change the
"Macintosh Name:" field. The new name is used immediately.

With both System 6 and System 7, the name is stored in the System file in
an STR resource with an ID of -16096. When starting up under System 6, if
the Macintosh has no name, the Responder will ask the user to type in a
name. If a name is typed in, the Responder will write the name to the
resource STR ID = -16096. System 7 does not do this. The only way to name
the Macintosh is via the Sharing Setup Control Panel.


Published Date: Feb 18, 2012