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"Renaming" a Windows 8.1 system that already has Office 365 installed

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questorfla:
This is a question that was brought up and i am no longer sure of what to reply with.   I have a user at the office who wants to "rename" their laptop.  This the the "Name" that shows up under advanced system properties <Computer Name>.   This name is not used anywhere that I know of in our Network in a specific manner and I would have no problem telling them to go ahead.

But I am no longer certain that there might be some link to this arbitrary name in a way that it "COULD"  create issues with their Microsoft Licenses and Office 365 setup in some manner   I told them to wait until I could post this message to get more input.  Better safe than sorry.

Can anyone tell me if there is any reason why this one place should remain exactly as it was when the laptop was first turned on and that name was entered?  As I said, it has no direct meaning to me, the local network,  or anyone else here but I am not so sure that it is not already in some way linked to their Windows 8.1 licensing and Office 365 licensing.  The local network is only a Work-group, not a Domain.  But I have seen people do this before and have "glitches" afterward that would make me stop and think before just outright changing that name which is actually irrelevant other than personal preference to me.

Ath:
Office 365 accounts are coupled to the account that is used to log into the MS cloud where Office 365 resides, not to a specific workstation. I might work on another location/workstation, or a tablet, tomorrow, and I still want/need access to my own files, don't I?

Should be harmless to change the computer-name.

questorfla:
I guess I am really more concerned about the data on the system than any one program.  I have known people who changed the system name and found that they no longer had an account on that computer.   And all their files moved to a location they cannot access while logged into the new computer name.  I haven't had the issue come up for years as no one ever looks at it now anyway unless they are playing around in Desktop mode.  The name is just what it is and I figure best to leave it alone.  Changing the USERS name I have no issue with at all and I know exactly what happens when you do that.  Changing the computer's name though...

I'm just checking to see if anyone knew any specific reason one way or the other or whether best to just leave it alone.  Usually anything in Windows that takes more than 2 clicks to access is best left as is :).  Though I agree my worries about 365 should be groundless as the login is made to not be specific to any one system.  

mouser:
I'm with Ath, I am hard pressed to think of any reason it would mess up anything.

Gwen7:
wouldn't it be easier to ask Microsoft support instead of speculating? changing the computer name might affect the number of software installations you're allowed depending on *which* subscription plan you have. i'd certainly ask microsoft first rather than have to call them later.

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