Computer name keeps getting (2) appended to it.

Yes, me too.

Before you read on, I have no answer but hope that posting my precise issue rather than the usual gobledygook, a boffin may piece this together and solve the riddle.

I have Mac Pro 8 Core but have not however upgraded to Mountain Lion as I know it will render about $10K worth of software useless. (I've Been using Mac's forever and have wised up to Apples "upgrade" nonsenese).

Anyway, without upgrading to Mountain Lion, I am still having the above issues using OS 10.7.5.

The name of your computer “XXX Mac Pro (2)” is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to “XXX Mac Pro (3)”.

Seems odd that I have not upgraded yet have the same issue, which would indicate the problem could be App related.

What I know is that Safari and iTunes have been problematic of late, especially when clearing your Cache or connecting to that disaster area they call iCloud. I switched everything off of iCloud a while back because it is rubbish, meaning that this should not factor in this issue.

Not sure if iTunes or Safari could be related though. It is definately related to the Mac waking from Sleep mode though.

I have an iPad, a couple of iPhones, Apple TV and a Windows 7 PC on my network, all linked via WIFI through my Airport Extreme and Airport Express.

My WIFI has been set up like this for some time now and this problem started 2 weeks ago. I doubt that it is nothing to do with my network or anything connected to it causing this issue or it would have manifested itself before.

I do use Virtual Box to run a couple of Virtual PC's and Android, but again I am not convinced this is related.

I should also add, that this issue does not necessarily occur when the PC or Virtual PC's are switched on or have been switched on in a session. The latest incident only had my Macpro connected to Airport Exreme, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. No PC or Windows involved at all.

This feels like something caused by a recent Apple Software Update, which leads me to Safari and iTunes. Just not sure how, why and what though???

I'm having the same problem, running ML. I think it started after I installed Lion Server. I've turned off the DHCP and DNS features, as I thought they may be causing the conflict, but it did not resolve the problem. Has anyone noticed a connection between Server and this issue? Currently running Server 2.1.1

hi

i have the same issue

up to imac(3) and mac mini(8) IT IS ANNOYING - DOES APPLE HAVE A SOLUTION???

DOES APPLE MONITOR AND RESPOND TO THESE THREADS??

I found reference to a potential fix on other forums:

"Fortunately I found a fix. I was able to get rid of the problem by toggling Bonjour, as described here:

http://tech.karbassi...-mdnsresponder/

To turn Bonjour off:

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist

To turn it back on:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist"

I've only just tried this myself, so I don't know yet if it works long term. But I thought I'd post it here, otherwise I'd never remember to come back here weeks later.

By the way, source was: http://forums.macworld.com/index.php?/topic/101661-why-did-my-local-hostname-sud denly-change/

I was having the same problem after upgrading to 10.7. I was up to (8097).

Turning Bonjour off and on as you describe seems to have resolved to problem.

Thanks.

I corrected my problem by going into "Sharing" -> "Remote Login", enable that. Change the computer name, and edit the computer name to be the same.

After that I noticed the Remote Login access was still some generic name of the host to be accessed via ssh.

I turned off WiFi, and went to a terminal and entered this command

sudo hostname <myHostName>

Rebooted the computer, again went to the terminal and entered in `hostname` to ensure it was still in fact the same hostname - and it was.

Turned on WiFi to ensure I didn't have an left over problems - rebooted again. Hostname in terminal, and in the "Sharing" -> "Remote Login" window was the same - Vwa Laa

Are any of you guys using a Calibre server (the Calibre ebook management app over the Web)?

I ran into this problem today and discovered that the moment I launched Calibre, that was about the time I would get the message that my iMac's Local Hostname was changed to XXXXX-2.local. I went into Calibre preferences, stopped the server, changed it back to XXXXX.local, waited and watched a few minutes, then hit "Start Server" in Calibre. Bam — it instantly changed it to XXXXX-2.local again. With Calibre server off, I haven't had the problem anymore. I'll continue to investigate so I can get Calibre running again and my Local Hostname to remain what I want it to be, but I was hoping this would be helpful for others in this thread.

Best of luck!

I had the "name-change" problem for the first time today, and had the "already in use" problem several times within recent weeks. Using Lion 10.7.5 with an iMac, MacBook and iPhone on my network using Ethernet and Wifi. Also have a new ISP cable company. Was relieved to see others' name changes happen with a consistently appended "2" and higher - so it's not just a neighboorhood hacker getting into secure networks. I don't understand why Apple hasn't fixed this by now.

I've struggled with this off an on for a couple of years. It just started up again on my old Mac Pro and thought I'd look into solutions.

I'm running Lion (10.7.8). The rest of the network is Apple hardware, except for the printers, my Tivo, and the router. No wifi on the computer, no Back to My Mac or Find My Mac. I turned off the "Wake on ethernet activity" preference -- no change.

I reset Bonjour and thought I'd fixed it, but just now woke from sleep to find the hostname command in Terminal once again showed MYCOMPUTER-6, not MYCOMPUTER.

Here's a thought: since it's something that resets when waking from sleep or restarting, could it be a cache problem? I know that OS X reloads a stored image of the pre-sleep or -shutdown state of the computer; could there be some sort of hiccup as the Mac checks the LAN for a similarly named computer?

Just a thought.

Hi Everybody,

I too am having this problem and it is terribly upsetting because mac os x is usually so beautifully tidy and in order. having this number come up behind an otherwise good-looking name of one of our companions makes it a machine.

this may be way wrong, but I haven't seen this train of thought yet:

does anyone here having this problem use remote desktop or a vnc client or something of this sort? I use iTeleport on my iOS devices. this may be what is happening:

A.

Mac Pro and iTeleport on iOS device are communicating. iTeleport "sees" Mac Pro.

B.

Mac Pro goes to sleep. iTeleport is still in contact with Mac Pro, it thinks it still "sees" the Mac Pro.

C.

Mac Pro wakes from sleep. iTeleport is transmitting being in contact (seeing) Mac Pro.

D.

Mac Pro thinks iTeleport must mean some other machine. So it renames iteself Mac Pro (2).

Or maybe quite simply shut off wake-on-lan.

Good luck!

Will try it out myself over the next couple of days.

My problem cleared up after a service call from my ISP cable company shortly after my original post to this site. Not sure if it had anything to do with this, but I mentioned the renaming problem to the repair tech and athough he said the cable company wasn't causing it, he did a hard reset to my modem. About the same time, I ALSO upgraded from Lion to Mountain Lion, so there's another possibility. All's well now!

The problem originally occurred with Lion, and only occurred during wake-ups. I also have an iMac and MacBookPro on the network with a TimeMachine.

I hope this helps!

P.S. DroogMac, I agree, Mac is usually not problematic whatsoever.

Best regards,

D

This issue really sounds like a problem with Bonjour communications. Essentially, there's a "ghost" of the machine on the network--which is to say that the other devices on the network have a Bonjour "memory" of that machine, and for some reason the "new" version of the machine can't convince the other devices that it's the same as the "ghost" version. So a virtual vote is taken, and the other devices decide that the "new" machine must change its name to avoid conflicting with the "ghost."

Try this: Turn off EVERYTHING on your network. Computers, routers, modems, base stations, switches, AppleTVs, iPads/Phones/Pods, I mean everything. Shut it all down, powered off. One at a time, boot each Mac, fix its name in the Sharing panel, and shut it back down. Once that's done, turn on all the "supporting" devices on your network--routers, modems, base stations, switches. Give them a minute to get their pants on straight, and then boot the computers. Finally, turn on the AppleTVs, iDevices, etc.

Doing that _should_ clear out any "ghost" entries that might be hanging around in the Bonjour memory of who-knows-which device.

The following worked for me:

sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache

OK so I got a bit fed up with this issue, I was also going around in circles until the fix (I have waited over 2 weeks to test before posting this) came to me.

Open System Preferences > Network

In the network section you will most likely see "Automatic" listed as your Location. Click on your current location then click "Edit Locations". Create a new location (I called mine Home but I do not think the name matters) then select it. The old location can now be removed. Apply the changes then sigh with relief. It would seem that the location that you were using when upgrading to Yosemite somehow got corrupted.

I hope that this is a fix that also is workable for you.