[Solved] How do you change computer's name?

[RamBurner]

I neglected to change the computer's name during install, how do I change it? I'm not seeing where to do that.

[AndyMH]

To find out your computer name, in a terminal either hostname or hostnamectl which gives you a bit more info.

To change your hostname in a terminal hostnamectl set-hostname 'newname'. Then verify it has changed by using one of the first commands again.

It helps to keep hostnames short.

Code: Select all

andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: T432
         Icon name: computer-laptop
           Chassis: laptop
        Machine ID: 4095cb9d62054733b651d895c996ea84
           Boot ID: 954a8515183842cbafb05c3209afc068
  Operating System: Linux Mint 19
            Kernel: Linux 4.15.0-99-generic
      Architecture: x86-64
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T433'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T433
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T432'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432

[RamBurner]

Thank you very much. This is the first time in about 500 installs I didn't change it, oops.

[AZgl1800]

double thanks.....
my laptop's name was about 25 characters.... hated it.

[AndyMH]

double thanks.....
my laptop's name was about 25 characters.... hated it.

Made that mistake when I first started and then tried to network to another PC, hostname > 15 chars which was a netbios limitation. Don't know if that is still a problem today, anyway, altair4 helped me out.

[Moonstone Man]

... altair4 helped me out.

I thought it was a very elegant solution. I'll use that method in future. I was relying on editing /etc/hosts and /etc/hostname, followed by the obligatory reboot.

[AndyMH]

I thought it was a very elegant solution.

I take no credit, found it on the web

[ricardogroetaers]

..... to change the computer's name ..... , how do I change it? I'm not seeing where to do that.

Through the Xfce graphical interface:
Whisker menu -> System -> network.
In Mate and Cinnamon environments there must be something similar.

Click on the "Unlock" button and change the "machine name".


Go to the "machines" tab and see if the machine's "nickname" has also changed.


If necessary, change. Click on the "properties" button for that.

Note:
-The graphics features of Linux Mint are to be used and not confined in the "closet".
-the "network" program can be invoked by the Xfce terminal by typing the command:
network-admin

[AndyMH]

In Mate and Cinnamon environments there must be something similar.

Not in cinnamon, or I can't find it.

[ricardogroetaers]

Not in cinnamon, or I can't find it.

Try typing the command in a terminal window:
network-admin

[AndyMH]

Try typing the command in a terminal window:
network-admin

Worked, but not installed by default, at least in LM19.0, so had to install it first.

[jp14]

To find out your computer name, in a terminal either hostname or hostnamectl which gives you a bit more info.

To change your hostname in a terminal hostnamectl set-hostname 'newname'. Then verify it has changed by using one of the first commands again.

It helps to keep hostnames short.

Code: Select all

andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: T432
         Icon name: computer-laptop
           Chassis: laptop
        Machine ID: 4095cb9d62054733b651d895c996ea84
           Boot ID: 954a8515183842cbafb05c3209afc068
  Operating System: Linux Mint 19
            Kernel: Linux 4.15.0-99-generic
      Architecture: x86-64
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T433'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T433
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T432'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432

i did that and the name changed , but now i have this bash line on top every time i open terminal.
how to get rid of that?

[AndyMH]

but now i have this bash line on top every time i open terminal

Reboot? Didn't have that problem because in my example, having changed the hostname I changed it back to what it was originally.

Edit - just checked, don't have that script, but do have a vte-2.91.sh in /etc/profile.d. It seems to manipulate the PS1 environment variable:
https://www.tecmint.com/customize-bash- ... mpt-linux/
Beyond that, have no idea what its purpose is.

[jp14]

Yes I did try reboot, still the same.

[AndyMH]

This is the content of vte-2.91.sh:

Code: Select all

# Copyright © 2006 Shaun McCance <shaunm@gnome.org>
# Copyright © 2013 Peter De Wachter <pdewacht@gmail.com>
#
# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

# Not bash or zsh?
[ -n "$BASH_VERSION" -o -n "$ZSH_VERSION" ] || return 0

# Not an interactive shell?
[[ $- == *i* ]] || return 0

# Not running under vte?
[ "${VTE_VERSION:-0}" -ge 3405 ] || return 0

__vte_urlencode() (
  # This is important to make sure string manipulation is handled
  # byte-by-byte.
  LC_ALL=C
  str="$1"
  while [ -n "$str" ]; do
    safe="${str%%[!a-zA-Z0-9/:_\.\-\!\'\(\)~]*}"
    printf "%s" "$safe"
    str="${str#"$safe"}"
    if [ -n "$str" ]; then
      printf "%%%02X" "'$str"
      str="${str#?}"
    fi
  done
)

# Print a warning so that anyone who's added this manually to his PS1 can adapt.
# The function will be removed in a later version.
__vte_ps1() {
  echo -n "(__vte_ps1 is obsolete)"
}

__vte_osc7 () {
  printf "\033]7;file://%s%s\007" "${HOSTNAME:-}" "$(__vte_urlencode "${PWD}")"
}

__vte_prompt_command() {
  local pwd='~'
  [ "$PWD" != "$HOME" ] && pwd=${PWD/#$HOME\//\~\/}
  printf "\033]0;%s@%s:%s\007%s" "${USER}" "${HOSTNAME%%.*}" "${pwd}" "$(__vte_osc7)"
}

case "$TERM" in
  xterm*|vte*)
    [ -n "$BASH_VERSION" ] && PROMPT_COMMAND="__vte_prompt_command"
    [ -n "$ZSH_VERSION"  ] && precmd_functions+=(__vte_osc7)
    ;;
esac

true

you might try creating it as the missing script vte.sh and see what happens.
EDIT - owner is root and it is executable, so you will need to change properties.

[jp14]

ok thanks , but found this solution that fixed it .
earlier i installed the budgie DE ,didn't like it so uninstalled again.
seems that created that problem

[paddys-hill]

(Knock, knock Sorry to disturb you folks but it looks like a knowledgable enough group for this)

Where can I set up the domainname for a server and how do I make it persist?

tia

[jodarove]

To find out your computer name, in a terminal either hostname or hostnamectl which gives you a bit more info.

To change your hostname in a terminal hostnamectl set-hostname 'newname'. Then verify it has changed by using one of the first commands again.

It helps to keep hostnames short.

Code: Select all

andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: T432
         Icon name: computer-laptop
           Chassis: laptop
        Machine ID: 4095cb9d62054733b651d895c996ea84
           Boot ID: 954a8515183842cbafb05c3209afc068
  Operating System: Linux Mint 19
            Kernel: Linux 4.15.0-99-generic
      Architecture: x86-64
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T433'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T433
andy@T432 ~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname 'T432'
andy@T432 ~ $ hostname
T432

Thank you!!! worked perfectly!

[mikeflan]

i did that and the name changed , but now i have this bash line on top every time i open terminal.
how to get rid of that?

This is a temporary fix. Type this in the terminal:

Code: Select all

PS1=$
PROMPT_COMMAND=
echo -en "\033]0;my_new_name\a"