system tried to change local host name

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Level 1

9 points

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?

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Jan 8, 2014 5:02 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 8, 2014 1:46 PM in response to Alix22

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.

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