BITBA Network

You were not connected because a duplicate name exists on the network. Go to System in Control Panel to change the computer name and try again.

Can't change name of a computer in a workgroup or domain

In your network you may decide to update the name of a computer. Your computer can be part of a domain or workgroup. However in some cases you may have an old computer that you need to replace. After replacing that computer you may want to update the name of a new machine to match the name of the previous computer. In some cases then you may see the error of

Can't change name of a computer in a workgroup or domain

You were not connected because a duplicate name exists on the network. Go to System in Control Panel to change the computer name and try again.

In our example, we replaced a windows 2003 in a workgroup and when we tried to add a new server with the same name we saw similar error.

The easiest way to resolve the issue is editing your registry as you know the name you are assigning to the new server is available. Follow these steps to modify the registry.

1) Start the registry editor: Generally you can click on start menu and run or search “RegEdit”

2) Find the following registry location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters

3) On the right pane right click and define (Add Value): The value name is DisableStrictNameChecking the type is REG_DWORD and the Value is 1.

4) After setting up the above key you can exit the registry and you SHOULD restart the computer to see the effects.

As usual, please make sure you consult with your IT support department before making any changes to the registry. Changing registry may cause serious damage to your server or computer and may result in losing functionality. Please try the suggested method at your own risk.