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Zombo
Asked: 2015-04-07 17:49:59 +0800 CST

localhost as computer name

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When you set up Windows it requires a computer name, something like Steven-PC.

This is the equivalent to hostname on Linux. I noticed that Fedora Linux uses localhost as the default hostname. Would using localhost as a computer name cause any problems with Windows?

windows

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    It's probably not going to break much of anything on your local machine, assuming no Windows domain nor DHCP is involved.

    However, the identifier 'localhost' specifically and always is defined to mean the local machine. This means that any other computer that wants to connect to you by name will be unable to do so, because attempting to connect to 'localhost' will be attempting to connect to themselves.

    Similarly, it is entirely likely that your domain controller (if you have one) will either disallow the hostname or will encounter problems when registering your hostname. Similarly, if you used DHCP, you may encounter issues if the DHCP server is set up to auto-register your host's name.

    Therefore, if it's the only computer you're using on a very simple network, you're probably OK. Anything with any level of complexity, and you really should choose a different name.

    • 8

  2. I'm pretty sure that's OK to use. I don't have a test computer at the moment to test it...you can easily do so.

    But to prove my answer...here's the actual list of reserved words according to: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/909264

    Table of reserved words

    +--------------------------+----+----+------+  
|Reserved words for names  | NT4| 2K | >=2k3|  
+--------------------------+----+----+------+ 
|ANONYMOUS                 | X  | X  | X    |  
|AUTHENTICATED USER        |    | X  | X    |  
|BATCH                     | X  | X  | X    |  
|BUILTIN                   | X  | X  | X    |  
|CREATOR GROUP             | X  | X  | X    |  
|CREATOR GROUP SERVER      | X  | X  | X    |  
|CREATOR OWNER             | X  | X  | X    |  
|CREATOR OWNER SERVER      | X  | X  | X    |  
|DIALUP                    | X  | X  | X    |  
|DIGEST AUTH               |    |    | X    |  
|INTERACTIVE               | X  | X  | X    |  
|INTERNET                  |    | X  | X    |  
|LOCAL                     | X  | X  | X    |  
|LOCAL SYSTEM              |    |    | X    |  
|NETWORK                   | X  | X  | X    |  
|NETWORK SERVICE           |    |    | X    |  
|NT AUTHORITY              | X  | X  | X    |  
|NT DOMAIN                 | X  | X  | X    |  
|NTLM AUTH                 |    |    | X    |  
|NULL                      | X  | X  | X    |  
|PROXY                     |    | X  | X    |  
|REMOTE INTERACTIVE        |    |    | X    |  
|RESTRICTED                |    | X  | X    |  
|SCHANNEL AUTH             |    |    | X    |  
|SELF                      |    | X  | X    |  
|SERVER                    |    | X  | X    |  
|SERVICE                   | X  | X  | X    |  
|SYSTEM                    | X  | X  | X    |  
|TERMINAL SERVER           |    | X  | X    |  
|THIS ORGANIZATION         |    |    | X    |  
|USERS                     |    |    | X    |  
|WORLD                     | X  | X  | X    |  
+--------------------------+----+----+------+
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