Replace Vista’s factory-designated ID code with a personalized name

REPLACE VISTA’S FACTORY-DESIGNATED ID CODE WITH A PERSONALIZED NAME

My firm just bought a dozen computers with the Vista operating system installed. They all have long alphanumeric codes for names, but I want to personalize each with the name of the staff person who will use the machine. How can I change the IDs?

In the pre-Vista days, renaming computers was a snap, but Vista makes you dig down several menu layers and the trip is a little tricky. Start by opening Control Panel ; if that icon isn’t already on your desktop, now’s a good time to install it because it’s one of the handiest Vista customizing tools.

To install the icon, click on Start and you’ll see a list of functions, including Control Panel (see screenshot below). Press and hold down the right mouse button on the words Control Panel and drag them onto the desktop. When you release the mouse button, a message, Create Shortcut Here , will appear. Click on it and change the name to Control Panel .

When you click the button, the Control Panel Home screen opens, and it will probably default to the Vista view. Click on System and Maintenance , bringing up another Control Panel Home screen (see screenshot below). Cursor down to System and click on it.

If the Control Panel opens instead to the Classic View , scan down the page and click on System . That will open another System and Maintenance screen (see screenshot below). Halfway down the screen locate Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings and click on Change settings .

That will open the System Properties screen (see screenshot below), and you’ve finally arrived at your target. Type in your changes at Computer description and click on Change .

One final step: You must reboot to activate the change.