Renaming a sql server instance after you rename the server

I installed sql server on one of my test servers, and I am eventually going to rename this server and put it into production. This server will replace one of my old servers with the same name. I was wondering if there was a way to rename the SQL Server instance after you rename your server without having to reinstall SQL Server. Thanks in advance for all the help.Originally posted by svanati
I installed sql server on one of my test servers, and I am eventually going to rename this server and put it into production. This server will replace one of my old servers with the same name. I was wondering if there was a way to rename the SQL Server instance after you rename your server without having to reinstall SQL Server. Thanks in advance for all the help.

Done this many times. If you are using replication it gets more complex. I've done that as well but I will assume you aren't

Accommodate change in NetBIOS name:

sp_dropserver 'oldname', 'droplogins'
sp_addserver 'newname', local

use msdb
go
SELECT * FROM sysjobs -- Check which jobs have which server name...
update sysjobs set originating_server = 'newname' -- Assumes no jobs intentionally use a different server name

restart SQL Server

SELECT @.@.servername -- The result should match the systems NetBIOS name|||Thanks for the help.sql