The computer name contains nonstandard characters

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Windows Small Business Server 2003 Setup cannot install Exchange Server during the upgrade because the computer name contains nonstandard characters.

If you want to install Exchange, you must change the computer name before you continue. If your server is already a domain controller, you can either complete a new installation or see the “Advanced option for renaming a domain controller.” For more information about completing a new installation, see Chapter 3A, “New Installation,” of Getting Started. If your server is not a domain controller, see the following section “To rename a computer that is not a domain controller.”

If you want to upgrade without installing Exchange, select the I acknowledge all warnings check box to continue Setup.

Note

The computer name identifies the computer running Windows Small Business Server on your network so that users can connect to resources. It must be a unique name of up to 15 standard characters, and it can only contain standard characters: A-Z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-). It cannot be the same as the NetBIOS domain name and cannot be all numbers.

To rename a computer that is not a domain controller

  1. Cancel Setup.

  2. Click Start, click Run, and then type Control.

  3. Double-click System.

  4. Do one of the following:

    1. On a computer running Windows 2000 Server, on the Network Identification tab, click Properties.
    2. On a computer running Windows Server 2003, on the Computer tab, click Change.

  5. In Computer name, type a standard computer name, and then click OK.

  6. Rerun Windows Small Business Server 2003 Setup.

Warning

Renaming your computer without completing a new installation requires that you remove Active Directory. However, by doing so, you will lose all information in Active Directory, such as user and computer information.

To rename a computer that is a domain controller (advanced option)

  1. Cancel Setup.

  2. Click Start, and then click Run. Type dcpromo, and then click OK to open the Active Directory Installation Wizard.

  3. Follow the instructions to remove Active Directory.

  4. Click Start, click Run, and then type Control.

  5. Double-click System.

  6. Do one of the following:

    1. On a computer running Windows 2000 Server, on the Network Identification tab, click Properties.
    2. On a computer running Windows Server 2003, on the Computer tab, click Change.

  7. In Computer name, type a standard computer name, and then click OK.

  8. Rerun Windows Small Business Server 2003 Setup.

Note

If you have an additional domain controller, you can reinstall Active Directory and join the existing domain after you have renamed the computer. After doing so, you should complete a full system backup.