OS X keeps appending "(2)" to computer name

[dennosaurus]

I created an account mostly to commiserate. Misery loves company and all that. Having this problem on my iMac, but not on my MBA with the same settings. Did a fresh install of Yosemite on both machines. I spoke with a senior advisor who had no earthly clue how or why this happens. He at least read my computer settings and took down all of my network information to forward to the engineers. I was supposed to hear back from him last Friday, but still no word. If anyone has better luck with a more knowledgeable advisor, any advice on a lasting fix would be greatly appreciated. As suggested, I have turned off "wake for network access" on the iMac, but I actually need this enabled as I regularly connect to this machine remotely (when it works) and would rather not leave it awake all the time. As with everyone here, I sincerely hope this gets fixed in the first update. Cheers!

 

[dennosaurus]

Update: I contacted Apple Support this morning to check on my case. Here's what I was told: it's an "emerging issue," the developers are aware of it and are working on a fix, and when/if they find a solution it will be included in a future update. The advisor did not indicate whether the upcoming update (10.10.1) will address the issue. Not very helpful for those of us experiencing the issue, but this is where it seems to stand. Has anyone else been given a similar assessment by an Apple advisor?

 

[S.B.G]

Update: I contacted Apple Support this morning to check on my case. Here's what I was told: it's an "emerging issue," the developers are aware of it and are working on a fix, and when/if they find a solution it will be included in a future update. The advisor did not indicate whether the upcoming update (10.10.1) will address the issue. Not very helpful for those of us experiencing the issue, but this is where it seems to stand. Has anyone else been given a similar assessment by an Apple advisor?

The good news is that they're aware of it and working on it.

 

[931069]

I have the same problem.

 

[randomgeeza]

I have the same problem.

The only way I can temporarily resolve this, and this is across two different MBP's, is to restart the TC/AE. Whilst renaming the machines is Sharing.

For some reason, it does keep coming back... but is less persistent than if I just rename and do nothing else.

Running 10.10.1, so hoping that this issue has been addressed. But doubt it... Time will tell.

 

[dennosaurus]

The good news is that they're aware of it and working on it.

Absolutely. I was relieved to hear that Apple is aware of the problem and working on it.

The only way I can temporarily resolve this, and this is across two different MBP's, is to restart the TC/AE. Whilst renaming the machines is Sharing.

For some reason, it does keep coming back... but is less persistent than if I just rename and do nothing else.

Running 10.10.1, so hoping that this issue has been addressed. But doubt it... Time will tell.

This is what I did, too. Additionally, I turned off "Wake for network access." The name is holding for now, but it's been less than a day since I made the changes. As you're using 10.10.1, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide a future update regarding whether or not the build addresses the issue. Many thanks.

 

[randomgeeza]

Absolutely. I was relieved to hear that Apple is aware of the problem and working on it.



This is what I did, too. Additionally, I turned off "Wake for network access." The name is holding for now, but it's been less than a day since I made the changes. As you're using 10.10.1, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide a future update regarding whether or not the build addresses the issue. Many thanks.

So far so good... But this has happened before. I'll see what it says in the morning. As the machine will sleep, and then wake at 3am for a Daily CCC... And it seems to happen when the machine sleeps and then wakes. Fingers crossed though...

 

[ouimetnick]

I'm at 12.. Beat that!!

 

[randomgeeza]

So far so good... But this has happened before. I'll see what it says in the morning. As the machine will sleep, and then wake at 3am for a Daily CCC... And it seems to happen when the machine sleeps and then wakes. Fingers crossed though...

A few more hours have passed, and all is good. Will continue to keep an eye on this and update accordingly.

 

[mzd]

i tried the .plist fix, and that seems to have fixed my iMac name, but i still have all the ghost machines in the Shared tab in Finder. any way to get rid of them? i've restarted multiple times, turned Sharing off, and i restarted my router (not an AirPort) but no luck so far.

 

[chrfr]

Absolutely. I was relieved to hear that Apple is aware of the problem and working on it.



This is what I did, too. Additionally, I turned off "Wake for network access." The name is holding for now, but it's been less than a day since I made the changes. As you're using 10.10.1, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide a future update regarding whether or not the build addresses the issue. Many thanks.

I just had a machine running 10.10.1 rename itself, so it's apparently not fixed in this build.

 

[magicMac]

haha good to know i'm not the only one with this problem. didn't think to check the forums, as mentioned renaming it back in the sharing settings seems to do the trick, and despite doing this many times now it seems to have finally stuck.

 

[nebrot]

At first I was having this problem on my 2011 Air, but so far it seems gone. Now however it started on my Apple TV - so how can it be a Yosemite problem? I havent had my Air turned on for a few days and the ATV renamed itself... I am using a Time Capsule, wouldn´t that be a network thing?

 

[dennosaurus]

I just had a machine running 10.10.1 rename itself, so it's apparently not fixed in this build.

Well, that's disappointing. Forgive my ignorance, but is it uncommon for Apple to change/add fixes before the updates are released to the masses?

i tried the .plist fix, and that seems to have fixed my iMac name, but i still have all the ghost machines in the Shared tab in Finder. any way to get rid of them? i've restarted multiple times, turned Sharing off, and i restarted my router (not an AirPort) but no luck so far.

This is a really pertinent question...how in the world does one get rid of these things in the Finder sidebar? Some of them simply disappeared for me after a restart, but some are sticking around.

 

[chrfr]

Forgive my ignorance, but is it uncommon for Apple to change/add fixes before the updates are released to the masses?

It's quite possible they're working on it or haven't yet built it into the update.
It's also possible that the iOS 8.1.1 update for the Apple TV will help, because most people who have the problem also seem to have an Apple TV and/or other iOS device on the network.

 

[rhysmorgan]

This is definitely a bug with Yosemite as it only started happening to me during the beta.
Not only that, but it's not been fixed even with OS X 10.10.1 beta either.

 

[ArmPol]

i tried the .plist fix, and that seems to have fixed my iMac name, but i still have all the ghost machines in the Shared tab in Finder. any way to get rid of them? i've restarted multiple times, turned Sharing off, and i restarted my router (not an AirPort) but no luck so far.

Indeed, a good question, I have got rid of all but one by switching off and on, but one is proving stubborn.

 

[laurihoefs]

This is caused by your computer seeing a ghost of itself on your network. You can make it stop by turning off Wake for Network Access in the Energy Saver pref pane. Once off, rename your machine to finish.

So far this has been the only trick that has worked. Thanks Intell!

 

[kfscoll]

The trick works, but if you're like me and use Screen Sharing to access your MBP while it's in clamshell mode (I access my laptop from my nMP constantly this way), the trick puts the kibosh on that. Here's hoping Apple fixes this soon...and I can confirm, it's not fixed in the latest 10.10.1 seed.

 

[unobtainium]

This is caused by your computer seeing a ghost of itself on your network. You can make it stop by turning off Wake for Network Access in the Energy Saver pref pane. Once off, rename your machine to finish.

What happens if we disable Wake for Network Access? Do we lose any features? It must exist for a reason?

 

[laurihoefs]

What happens if we disable Wake for Network Access? Do we lose any features? It must exist for a reason?

You can't access the computer remotely when it's sleeping. If you for, example, use it as an iTunes server, or need remote access to it (remote desktop, SSH, etc.), disabling it is not really an option. Unless you disable sleep modes too...

 

[jlg89]

Has anyone tried this?

I'm seeing this same behavior on multiple Yosemite-upgraded machines, in several physical locations.

This issue really sounds like a problem with Bonjour communications, perhaps exacerbated by a bug in Yosemite. As one of the very early posters said, 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. I'm going to try it here.

 

[chrfr]

Try this: Turn off EVERYTHING on your network. ...
Doing that _should_ clear out any "ghost" entries that might be hanging around in the Bonjour memory of who-knows-which device. I'm going to try it here.

This works for a while, but didn't stop the problem.

 

[crjackson2134]

This works for a while, but didn't stop the problem.

Yeah, I did that, and deleted the plist files, and spun on my head 3 times while flushing the toilet twice and eating a dill pickle at the same time.

Bottom line was, it was cleared for a day and a half and then returned

Oh! And I don't have an AppleTV either...

 

[randomgeeza]

Day three and all is well.

I have yet to turn back on Sharing preferences and B2MM... But, seeing as I currently don't need them. I see no reason to rock the boat...

Here's to another 3 days!