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How to Change a Virtual Machine Name in VMware Player

Learn how to change a virtual machine's display name in VMware Player without renaming its host folder, virtual disks, or configuration files.

VMware Player lets you change the name shown for a virtual machine in its library. This is useful when you manage several similar guests, such as Ubuntu Development, Ubuntu Testing, and Ubuntu Clean Install.

This procedure changes the VMware Player display name only. It does not rename the guest operating system, the host-side virtual machine folder, or the files stored in that folder.

What the virtual machine name means

A virtual machine is a software-defined computer with virtual hardware and its own guest operating system. VMware Player is the desktop virtualization software used to run and manage those virtual machines.

The Virtual machine name is the user-facing label configured in VMware Player. After you edit it, the new value appears in the VMware Player library, which is the list of virtual machines available in the application.

This name is separate from the guest operating system's computer name or hostname. For example, changing the VMware Player name to Debian Server Lab does not change the hostname reported by Debian. Change the hostname from inside the guest operating system if that is your goal.

Before renaming the virtual machine

• Identify the intended virtual machine in the VMware Player library. Check its existing name and, if necessary, its guest operating system before changing anything.
• Shut down the guest operating system normally. Do not leave the virtual machine running or suspended while editing this setting.
• Make sure VMware Player can access the virtual machine configuration and its host-side files.
• Close other VMware sessions that may be using the same virtual machine. A locked or unavailable configuration may prevent settings from being edited.

If you need a refresher on guest and host terminology, see What Is a Guest Operating System and What Is a Virtual Machine.

Steps to change the display name

1. Select the target virtual machine in the VMware Player library.
2. Open the Player menu.
3. Choose Manage, then choose Virtual Machine Settings.
4. In the settings window, open the Options tab.
5. Select General.
6. Edit the Virtual machine name field. For example, change Windows Test to Windows 11 Lab.
7. Click OK to save the change.
8. Check the VMware Player library. The selected virtual machine should now show the new display name.

The navigation path is:

Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings > Options > General

The setting you need is:

Virtual machine name

Menu wording can vary slightly between VMware Player releases, but the name field is located under the general options for the virtual machine.

What changes when you rename a virtual machine

Display name versus host-side file organization

A virtual machine directory is the folder on the host system that stores the configuration, virtual disks, snapshots, and other related files. The host system is the physical computer and operating system running VMware Player.

The VMware Player library name and the virtual machine directory name can be different. For example, after changing the display name from Old Linux VM to Debian Server Lab, the host folder may still be named Old Linux VM. The virtual disk and configuration files inside it can also retain their original names.

This separation is useful because you can organize the VMware Player library without moving or renaming large files. However, it can cause confusion when a library entry and its host folder appear to describe different machines.

If you need complete file-level renaming, use a separate, cautious procedure. Shut down the guest, preserve backups, and account for references in the virtual machine configuration before renaming or moving any host-side files. A display-name change alone is not a file-management operation. See Virtual Machine Files and Move a Virtual Machine for related file-organization topics.

Verify the change

1. Confirm that the renamed item appears in the VMware Player library.
2. Open Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings again.
3. Open Options > General and confirm that the Virtual machine name field contains the new value.
4. Click OK to close the settings window.
5. Start the virtual machine and confirm that it remains available and starts normally.

Troubleshooting

The old name is still visible in the host file manager

This is expected when only the VMware Player display name was changed. The virtual machine directory and its files are separate from the display name, so they keep their old names unless you rename them through a separate file-management procedure.

The guest operating system still reports its previous computer name

The VMware Player virtual machine name is not the guest operating system hostname. Open the guest operating system's own system or network settings and change its hostname or computer name there.

The new name does not appear in the library

The change may not have been confirmed, the wrong virtual machine may have been selected, or the library view may need to refresh. Reopen Virtual Machine Settings, verify the value under Options > General, save with OK, and confirm that you selected the intended library entry.

The settings option cannot be edited

The virtual machine may still be running, suspended, locked, or unavailable. Shut down the guest operating system, close other VMware sessions using the machine, and verify that VMware Player can access the virtual machine configuration and its directory.