Rename a computer in PowerShell

Rename-Computer cmdlet in PowerShell renames the local computer or remote computer name. It has a New-Name parameter to specify a new name for the local or remote computer.

In this article, we will discuss how to rename a computer in PowerShell using the Rename-Computer cmdlet and how to change a local computer name or remote computer name with examples.

Table of Contents hide

1 PowerShell Rename-Computer Syntax

2 PowerShell Rename-Computer to Change Local Computer Name

3 Rename a Remote computer using PowerShell

4 Rename Domain Computer using PowerShell

5 Conclusion

PowerShell Rename-Computer Syntax

Rename-Computer cmdlet renames a computer name to a specified new name using the following syntax.

Syntax:

Rename-Computer
      [-ComputerName <String>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-DomainCredential <PSCredential>]
      [-LocalCredential <PSCredential>]
      [-NewName] <String>
      [-Force]
      [-Restart]
      [-WsmanAuthentication <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Parameters:

-ComputerName

Parameter renames the remote computer in PowerShell. The default is the local computer.

To rename a remote pc, specify the IP address, the domain name of the remote computer, or the NetBIOS name.

To specify the local computer name, use localhost, dot (.).

-NewName

It specifies a new name for a computer. This parameter is mandatory to change a computer name. The name may contain alphanumeric, hyphens (-).

-Restart

It specifies restart is required after the computer is renamed. Restart is required to reflect the changes.

-DomainCredential

It specifies a user account with permission to connect to a remote computer in the domain and renames a computer joined in the domain with explicit credentials.

Use Domain\User or use the Get-Credential cmdlet to get user credentials.

-Force

The Force parameter forces the command to execute without user confirmation.

Let’s understand rename-computer cmdlet in PowerShell with examples.

PowerShell Rename-Computer to Change Local Computer Name

To change a local computer name, use the rename-computer cmdlet in PowerShell as below

Rename-Computer -NewName "IN-CORP101" -Restart

In the above PowerShell script, the rename-computer uses the NewName parameter to set a local computer name to IN-CORP101. After script execution, it will restart the local computer to reflect the change after the computer rename.

Rename a Remote computer using PowerShell

To rename a remote computer, use rename-computer cmdlet in PowerShell as below

Rename-Computer -ComputerName "IN-CORP01" -NewName "IN-CORP02" -Restart

In the above PowerShell script to rename the computer, the rename-computer cmdlet uses ComputerName parameter to specify a remote computer name and the NewName parameter to specify a new name for the computer.

After the script execution to rename the PC, the remote computer will restart to reflect the changes.

Rename Domain Computer using PowerShell

To rename a computer on the domain, the user must have permission to connect to the domain. For explicit credentials, use Get-Credential cmdlet in PowerShell.

Let’s set the remote server name on the domain using the rename-computer cmdlet in PowerShell.

Rename-Computer -ComputerName "EU-COPR10" -NewName "EU-CORP20" -DomainCredential ShellGeek\Admin -Force

In the above PowerShell script, Rename-Computer cmdlet renames a remote computer joined on a domain.

ComputerName specifies the remote computer name, NewName parameter specifies a new name for the computer.

DomainCredential parameter specify domain user ShellGeek\Admin who has permission to connect to the domain computer and rename a computer on the domain.

Conclusion

I hope the above article to rename a computer in PowerShell will help you change a local or remote computer host name.

The PowerShell Rename-Computer cmdlet uses the NewName parameter to change the computer name or host name of a local or remote computer.

The Rename-Computer cmdlet in PowerShell doesn’t have a parameter that takes the input value and returns ComputerChangeInfo an object if you specify -PassThru a parameter else return does not return any value.

You can find more topics about PowerShell Active Directory commands and PowerShell basics on the ShellGeek home page.