HELP! System keeps on changing local hostname

At irregular intervals I receive an error message stating that "This computer's local hostname "XXXXX" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "YYYYYYY"."
I was wondering if anyone could explain why this happens, and how to fix this.
Thank you!

UNDEUX wrote:
I also...(what a surprise) have the same problem. My local machine is on .11 and seems to only happen on Mac books. My Mac Mini remains untouched. Are the guys at Apple look at this forum? It would be nice to come up with a fix.
Yes, it is annoying, but a couple of comments:
If it annoys you to see the .11, or if it wreaks havoc with something you use, then just change the name back in System Preferences --> Sharing (click the Edit button on top of the window.
It doesn't only happen on Mac Books: I do have the problem occasionally on my Mac Pro, but, for some reason, it has never occurred on my MacBook Pro. On the Mac Pro, it's always when I wake the machine from sleep (though that may just be because the only time it ever starts up is after a system update that requires a reboot).
And no, Apple are not looking at this forum, at least not officially. Since the squeaky wheel gets the grease, everyone should report this as a bug. One can do so here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html
Daniel

Similar Messages

System tried to change local host name

A screen message with an exclamation mark showed up on my Mac Mini screen this morning which says: This computer's local hostname . . . is already in use on the network. The name has been changed to . . . (then inserted the current host name (# 2). I don't know what to make of this, and fear some kind of hacking. If this could be the case what can I do to find out? The only other thing I can think of is that I left my Time Machine on & it tried to do a full backup with my backup drive full. Anyone else have this happen?

There are several possible causes for this behavior.
1. Two (or more) computers on the local network have the same Bonjour name, such as "X's-MacBook-Pro.local".
2. You have two simultaneous connections to the same local network: probably Ethernet and Wi-Fi. If applicable, disconnect the Ethernet cable or turn off Wi-Fi.
3. A Mac wakes from sleep due to network traffic. This is a bug in OS X that may only affect some models.
4. A device that gets its network address from the router wakes from sleep, and the address it was using before has been assigned to another device.
5. A third-party wireless router has incompatible settings or firmware. In that case, refer to the manufacturer or ISP for support. Restarting the router may help, temporarily.
6. See also this support article.
Rename the computer in the Sharing preference pane.

Imac changes local hostname

I researched the issue in the forums and could not locate a fix for the issue. After computer "wakes" up, it provides the dialog box "This computer’s local hostname “XXXXXX-iMac-4.local” is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to “XXXXX-iMac-5.local”. Has anyone been able to come up with a fix. I have my wifi turned on and it is ethernet cabled to an airport extreme. I do not think it has disturbed the computer it is just annoying.

Normally, the message indicates something else is connected using the previous name. Launch the Terminal app in /Utilities, copy & paste in this command, and hit the enter key:
df
If you see /Volumes/ “XXXXXX-iMac-4", then you'll have to investigate and resolve the conflict. A google search for computer’s local hostname site:apple.com provides more info.

Please help:System keeps rebooting after Bios flash update

Hello,
Ok for starters I have the K9A2 CF motherboard,4GB of ram,My last Bios was 1.8.
I was flashing to 1.9 using the bios flash tool and a usb 1GB stick.The Bios flash went without errors and I rebooted.After this I booted back up.It gets to the 512Mb on the screen then poof,the system reboots automatically and keeps doing so thereafter unless I shut the PC off.How can I restore my Bios or fix this issue.This is not good as I cant even get to the post screen before it reboots to change anything.
Thanks,
K9A2 CF board
Windows Vista 64
4GB Corsair ram
80GB Stata HD
200GB IDE HD
DVD-RW Drive

Quote from: soldat32 on 06-August-09, 05:16:16
CPU Type QuadCore AMD Phenom, 2500 MHz (12.5 x 200)AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad Core Processor HD985ZXAGHBOX - Black Edition, Unlocked 2.50GHz, 4MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Agena, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket AM2+, Processor with Fan
No errors were found in my memory.My PSU seems to be working fine.My VGA is a XFX Nvidia 9600GT with 512mb.
Have you tried that?:
Quote from: Svet on 06-August-09, 03:52:32
Try with your second stick alone in the same DIMM slot.
Quote from: soldat32 on 06-August-09, 05:16:16
CPU Type QuadCore AMD Phenom, 2500 MHz (12.5 x 200)AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad Core Processor HD985ZXAGHBOX - Black Edition, Unlocked 2.50GHz, 4MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Agena, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket AM2+, Processor with Fan
Its 125W CPU.
Can you shows picture of your board? Is it V2? Is there a heatsink over mosfets?:

My computer's local hostname keeps changing - is there a solution?

I have looked into this in the community but have yet to find a resolution to this. I don't think this is a serious problem, but what do I know? The message that pops up is:
This computer's local hostname "besMac-277.local" is already in use on this network. The names has been changes to "besMac-400.local". To change the local hostname, open System Preferences and click Sharing, then click "Edit" and type the name in the Local Hostname field.
Screenshot:
The only think I can gether from reading the other posts is that having a wired ethernet connection to the router and wifi active may have something to do with it. I'm hesitant to unplug the ethernet as I would like it as a backup in case the wifi fails.
Thanks for your help!

I upgraded to Yosemite. Finder stays open and has a spinning wheel. It does not respond to Force Quit. I have spent 2 hrs. with Apple Support today on the phone. We tried to re-install Yosemite, but the time for completion started at 166 hrs. And kept increasing. So they are sending me to an Apple Store Wednesday. Others have commented on Finder problems.

I have changed default language in the program & have set Language & region in system preferences. My Word (Mac2011) keeps on changing the default language to US english every time I check. Please help!

I have changed default language in the program & have set Language & region in system preferences. My Word (Mac2011) keeps on changing the default language to US english every time I check. Please help!

If you're having trouble making changes to files that are inside your home folder (represented by a house icon in the sidebar of a Finder window), or if you can't get changes to the settings of an application to stick, then please see below.
Back up all data.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.
I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, they may not work as described.
Step 1
If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.
Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:
{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR..; sudo chown -R $UID:staff ~ $_; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_; chmod -R -N ~ $_; } 2>&-
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
You'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command may take a few minutes to run, or perhaps longer if you have literally millions of files in your home folder. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.
Boot into Recovery. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.
In the Terminal window, type this:
res
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password dialog will open. You’re not going to reset a password.
In the dialog, select the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if it's not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if it's not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select
 ▹ Restart
from the menu bar.

Local hostname keeps changing

Ever since upgrading to OSX Yosemite, I've noticed that several times now I have been unable to reach my iMac over LAN because the local hostname changed from "iMac.local" to "iMac2.local". This has occurred without any intervention or changes on my part and has created a serious issue with programs that have the host name hardcoded into them as they can no longer find the target machine. Has anyone else noticed this behavior?

Hi All,
I think this is a DHCP issue. When the Mac connects to a network it is doing a DHCP request and apperantly my DHCP server sends a hostname back. I deleted the entry in the server (DNS also) and now it seems to be resolved.
Kind regards,
Crash71

Every time i wake my mac i get This computer's local hostname "D-360.local" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "D-444.local".

error message that my local host name is in use and the system generates a new one every time I wake my mac the error mssg reads This computer’s local hostname “D-360.local” is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to “D-444.local”.

There are several possible causes for this behavior.
1. Two (or more) computers on the local network have the same Bonjour name, such as "X's-MacBook-Pro.local". Resolve the name conflict by renaming one or more of them in the Sharing preference pane.
2. You have two simultaneous connections to the same local network: probably Ethernet and Wi-Fi. If applicable, disconnect the Ethernet cable or turn off Wi-Fi.
3. A Mac wakes from sleep due to network traffic. This is a bug in OS X that may only affect some models.
4. A device that gets its network address from the router wakes from sleep, and the address it was using before has been assigned to another device.
5. A third-party wireless router has incompatible settings or firmware. In that case, refer to the manufacturer or ISP for support. Restarting the router may help, temporarily.
6. See also this support article.

How to change the hostname was set/defined in SAP system?

Dear Expert,
My customer met a problem about that:
he defined his host name with small characters(lower case) "abc" when he installed the SAP system (Windows2003(x64)-Solman70SR4).
But in SM21, the title of sm21, the hostname was recognize as upper case "ABC".
in SM51, the hostname was also recognized as upper case "ABC"
in STMS, the tab of 'transport tool', it is recognized as lower case "abc" in TRANSDIR.
in SM59, it is recognized as upper case "ABC" in internal connections, but recognized as lower case "abc" in ABAP connections, such as TMSADM@<DB>.DOMAIN.<sid>
While in Java URL, it is recognized as lower case "abc". With my test, the Java URL is not case sensitive for the HOSTNAME part in HTTP link as I tested to change the hostname both in upper case and lower case in etc\hostname file, the URL both are working. (not sure if this is due to the test is with intranet or not).
Based on SAP note 611361, it seems that:
"Hostnames must be considered "case sensitive". That means
hostnames shall be used in the same case (upper or lower) in all
SAP configurations as well as in the network configuration (DNS
or etc/hosts). You must ensure consistent name resolving of the
hostname from hostname to IP address and back from the IP address
to the the same hostname (case sensitive match). See also note
129997."
Please help to suggest.
Many thanks in advance,
Perry Song

Section 4.13 "Checking the Consistency of the Host Name" in [This Upgrade Guide|https://websmp208.sap-ag.de/~sapidb/011000358700000353422008E] has a good explaination of what & how to check your hostname / parameter configuration.
on a windows box, another way to get the TCP/IP name is to type 'hostname' from a CMD window.

Need a script to change value in the Local Hostname

Help! Want to change the Local Hostname because DynamicDNS has mess up 250 machines. Any ideas???????
I need a UNIX script to to change the Value of
/library/preference/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
<key>LocalHostName</key>
<string>Value</string>
in Apple Remote Desktop.
I think you use the grep command
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) Mac OS X 10.3.9

Hi CIO,
   Perl will perform the moving of files for you for free but otherwise, awk is completely up to the task and to my thinking easier to use. This assumes that the property list is text which isn't a good assumption. If the property list is binary, you would need plutil to convert it. Anyway, here's my script:
cat /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist | awk '{ if ( $0 ~ /<key>LocalHostName<\/key>/ ) { print; getline; sub(/<string>[^>*<\/string>/,"<string>New Value</string>"); print } else { print } }' > temp.plist
mv /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist .
mv temp.plist /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
The "mv" lines above will doubtless require superuser privileges.
Gary
~~~~
   teamwork, n.:
      Having someone to blame.

Is it possible to change settings in "Help System info"?

Is it possible to change Photoshop settings by clicking on Help and then System info? Since there is the possibility to type and the OK-button, I just started wondering.

All Help > System Info does is to report your system specifications so you can copy and paste them in the forums for troubleshooting purposes.
You can choose what to highlight and copy, but it does not change anything in your system like editing a configuration file would.

If changing the hostname of the Audit Vault Server version 12.1.2 please wait until the system reboots automatically.

Hi everyone
when changing the hostname of an AV Server in the newly released version 12.1.2, it can take up to 10 minutes from the time a user click ok on the pop-up message "Are you sure you want to reboot the Audit Vault Server for the changes to take affect" to the system actually shutting down for the reboot. The machine must not be manually rebooted as this will cause errors.
Some background information was provided by one of Oracle's developers for this product:
AVDF 12.1.2.0.0 uses Oracle Grid in Restart Configuration. This is needed to leverage the ASM infrastructure to create diskgroups etc. So, when a hostname of a system is changed, the entire Grid stack needs to be re-configured to work under the new hostname. This re-configuration is needed because Grid creates a lot of directories with the hostname in them and when the hostname is changed, it tries to look for critical configuration files under this new "hostname" and of course, they would not be present. Hence, when we change the hostname, an entire re-configuration of the Clusterware is attempted, at which point a new set of directories with the new hostname will be created by the Grid software.
This reconfiguration operation may take a few minutes to several minutes depending on the hardware/resource specs. This is because re-configuration of the Clusterware stack is a heavy-weight operation and takes time (It needs to shutdown all the CRS services and re-configure them and bring them back up). Hence, the long duration it takes before re-boot. You *MUST NOT* reboot it manually before the system automatically reboots -- otherwise the re-configuration operation will only be half-done. The chances of this re-configuration operation failing is very, very minimal (based on our tests). So, given enough time it _WILL_ complete eventually and the system _WILL_ automatically reboot. You just need to wait for it to happen.
Hope this will avoid any issues,
greetings,
Harm ten Napel

I may add it was my personal impatience that lead to this discovery: I was re-imaging my virtualbox install with the new 12.1.2 version (for testing purposes) and I want my AV server to be called 'auditvault', when it appeared nothing was happening (but there was) I rebooted the system manually with said results...

What does this mean? This computer's local hostname "Linda-Daviss-iMac-4.local" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "Linda-Daviss-iMac-5.local".

What does this mean: This computer’s local hostname “Linda-Daviss-iMac-4.local” is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to “Linda-Daviss-iMac-5.local”.
When I came back to my computer this message was on the screen. Should I be concerned ? or doing something?

Sometimes this message means that you have two simultaneous connections to the same local network: probably Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Disconnect the Ethernet cable or turn off Wi-Fi.
Sometimes it happens because a device that gets its network address from the router wakes from sleep, and the address it was using before has been assigned to another device.
Rename the computer in the Sharing preference pane.

Should I ok "this computer's local hostname Irma-Mac-mini-local" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to Irma2 Mac-mini 2-local

Should I ok this message-this computer's local hostname Irma's Mac-mini-local is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to Irma's Mac-mini-2local

Don't think this is a conflict with IP Addresses or computer names
= DHCP hangover when computer renews DHCP lease
There is no actual other computer
It just appears that way when reconnects so creates new -2 computer name
What types of names do you use your computers ?
Whether you name them after quantum particles or the romantic poets...
They will each start to be appended with "-2" then "-3" etc if you auto configure network settings from Airport Router DHCP service and you have this Change computer name issue where pop up window states name is already being used on your LAN
As stated previous post you can reset the computer name in SysPrefs / Sharing / Edit button
And restart Router or renew all DHCP leases (if persists in not allowing original name)
Can now press Edit and reset name of choice
But for Fix see link above

I get this message:This computer's local hostname "x-8.local" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "x-9.local" I have turned off sharing and it continues to upgrade name. What is the fix?

I get this message: This computer’s local hostname “x-8.local” is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to “x-9.local” I have turned off sharing and it continues to upgrade name. What is the fix?

Hi, this is a common problem, mostly just irksome though.
It can have many cause, like using more than one Interface for connections, Router temporarily losing x.local & seeing a new connection with x.local already used, insists it must be x-1.local, x-2.local, etc..
What all Sharing do you have enabled?
Some possible fixes...
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=542899
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3941367

HELP! System keeps on changing local hostname

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