terminal not showing machine's name. Why?

Akarin · Nov 9, 2011, 03:10 AM

Hi all,

When I open terminal, I see this:

Before I used to have "myname's Mac mini:" on the prompt. Now, I always have this "unknown..." line. Anybody knows why and how to fix it?

Thank you!

sidewinder · Nov 9, 2011, 03:26 AM

Have you looked at what the "Computer Name" is set to in "Sharing" preferences?

S-

Akarin · Nov 9, 2011, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder

Have you looked at what the "Computer Name" is set to in "Sharing" preferences?

S-

Yes... It's set on "MyName's Mac mini".

Quad5Ny · Nov 9, 2011, 06:03 AM

Does the "hostname" and "whoami" command list the correct info?

Try quitting Terminal completely and then logging on/off of your account.

Akarin · Nov 9, 2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quad5Ny

Does the "hostname" and "whoami" command list the correct info?

Try quitting Terminal completely and then logging on/off of your account.

This is what I get with those two commands, after logging off and back on:

Macopotamus · Nov 9, 2011, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akarin

This is what I get with those two commands, after logging off and back on:

Image

Try setting the hostname again with "sudo hostname -s MacName"

yawns · Nov 9, 2011, 06:20 PM

sudo scutil --set HostName NAMEYOUWANT.local

sudo hostname doesn't save between reboots.

Akarin · Nov 11, 2011, 01:39 AM

I tried both commands above and none of them work. My terminal just enters a mode with a prompt showing this:

>

...and nothing else. Then no command works and I have to quit & re-launch terminal before arriving to the same view as in the original post above.

Phil A. · 01:56 AM

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.3; en-gb; GT-I9100 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Try setting your DHCP client ID to your machine name in network settings and then Renee your DHCP lease.
I've seen this before when a DHCP server updates the DNS server with unknown and the MAC address which then gets used as the hostname.

Akarin · Nov 11, 2011, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil A.

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.3; en-gb; GT-I9100 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Try setting your DHCP client ID to your machine name in network settings and then Renee your DHCP lease.
I've seen this before when a DHCP server updates the DNS server with unknown and the MAC address which then gets used as the hostname.

Although the client ID was blank and I did what you propose, still no joy. Still having the unknown string in terminal...

Grimace · Nov 28, 2011, 12:19 AM

I think Lion changed the name from something you name it to your MAC address. Check your Network settings and it probably matches up.

shamalk · May 2, 2012, 09:14 PM

Hi,
I have this problem when I connect my mac book air to Ethernet using the Ethernet to USB adapter.

When I remove Ethernet I get my normal hostname back.

Hope this helps.

sidewinder · May 3, 2012, 01:23 AM

The problem isn't your computer. Phil A. is right. The problem is that is the name you DHCP server is handing you.

Edit your account's ".bash_profile" file and add this to it:

Code:

PS1='$(networksetup -getcomputername):\W \u\$ '

The ".bash_profile" file should be at the root level of your user account. If it is not there, create it.

Now, if you put "8.8.8.8" at the top of your DNS list, I bet your hostname would work fine too.

S-

Nov 9, 2011, 03:10 AM	#1
Akarin macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Nyon, Switzerland	terminal not showing machine's name. Why? Hi all, When I open terminal, I see this: Before I used to have "myname's Mac mini:" on the prompt. Now, I always have this "unknown..." line. Anybody knows why and how to fix it? Thank you! __________________ The easiest way to spread your ideas and connect with the relevant people: Qwikast
	0

Nov 9, 2011, 03:26 AM	#2
sidewinder macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northern California	Have you looked at what the "Computer Name" is set to in "Sharing" preferences? S- __________________ Mac Pro: 8-core 2.8 GHz, 10GB RAM, OS X 10.8.2; iPhone 5 32GB iOS 6.1
	0

Nov 9, 2011, 06:20 PM	#7
yawns macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2011	sudo scutil --set HostName NAMEYOUWANT.local sudo hostname doesn't save between reboots. __________________ I like that the email automatically says, "Sent from a MacBook Wheel." That way people know you have one.
	0

Nov 11, 2011, 01:39 AM	#8
Akarin Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Nyon, Switzerland	I tried both commands above and none of them work. My terminal just enters a mode with a prompt showing this: > ...and nothing else. Then no command works and I have to quit & re-launch terminal before arriving to the same view as in the original post above. __________________ The easiest way to spread your ideas and connect with the relevant people: Qwikast
	0

Nov 11, 2011, 01:56 AM	#9
Phil A. macrumors 68040 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Telford, UK	Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.3; en-gb; GT-I9100 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1) Try setting your DHCP client ID to your machine name in network settings and then Renee your DHCP lease. I've seen this before when a DHCP server updates the DNS server with unknown and the MAC address which then gets used as the hostname. __________________ Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure. ~Murphy's Law Last edited by Phil A.; Nov 11, 2011 at 01:56 AM.
	0

Nov 9, 2011, 06:03 AM	#4
Quad5Ny macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2009	Does the "hostname" and "whoami" command list the correct info? Try quitting Terminal completely and then logging on/off of your account.
	0

Nov 28, 2011, 12:19 AM	#11
Grimace macrumors 68040 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: with Hamburglar.	I think Lion changed the name from something you name it to your MAC address. Check your Network settings and it probably matches up. __________________ Canon 1Ds Mk III • Canon 5D MkII 16-35mm f/2.8L II • 24-70mm f/2.8L • 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II 50mm f/1.2L • 85mm f/1.2L • 135mm f/2L • 300mm f/2.8L IS
	0

May 2, 2012, 09:14 PM	#12
shamalk macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	Are you using Ethernet ? Hi, I have this problem when I connect my mac book air to Ethernet using the Ethernet to USB adapter. When I remove Ethernet I get my normal hostname back. Hope this helps.
	0

May 3, 2012, 01:23 AM	#13
sidewinder macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northern California	The problem isn't your computer. Phil A. is right. The problem is that is the name you DHCP server is handing you. Edit your account's ".bash_profile" file and add this to it: Code: PS1='$(networksetup -getcomputername):\W \u\$ ' The ".bash_profile" file should be at the root level of your user account. If it is not there, create it. Now, if you put "8.8.8.8" at the top of your DNS list, I bet your hostname would work fine too. S- __________________ Mac Pro: 8-core 2.8 GHz, 10GB RAM, OS X 10.8.2; iPhone 5 32GB iOS 6.1
	0


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