Back to My Mac: Use different Computer Names or Local Hostnames for each computer

  • Last Modified: April 05, 2008
  • Article: TS1214

Symptoms

When using Back to My Mac, if your computers have similar Computer Names (which may be the same as your Local Hostnames), or if you have upgraded one of your computers from Mac OS X 10.4 to Mac OS X 10.5, you may not be able to use Back to My Mac reliably. 

Products Affected

Back to My Mac

Resolution

Change the Computer Name (or Local Hostname) on one computer,  then try using Back to My Mac again. 

Note: When editing the Computer Name in Mac OS X 10.5's Sharing preferences, the Local Hostname (shown below the Computer Name field) changes. However, you can click the Edit button to change the Local Hostname independently of the Computer Name.

By default, Mac OS X gives your computer a Computer Name based on the information you provided in Mac OS X Setup Assistant during the initial startup.

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