Command Prompt Reference

The command prompt can be reached by

1. Going to the Start menu and clicking Run, and
2. Type in cmd and press enter

ipconfig

ipconfig is used for network setup and diagnostics.

ipconfig/all

this will provide a list of information for all enabled network interfaces.

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name … … … … : thb-helpdesk015
Primary Dns Suffix … … . :
Node Type … … … … : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled… … . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled… … . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description … … … . . : Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
Physical Address… … … : 00-13-72-8E-01-ED
Dhcp Enabled… … … . . : No
IP Address… … … … : 10.20.10.217
Subnet Mask … … … . . : 255.0.0.0
Default Gateway … … … : 10.20.10.1
DNS Servers … … … . . : 216.58.97.20
209.197.128.2
209.195.95.95

release and renew

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

attempts to obtain a new ip address using DHCP. After this, try doing a ipconfig /all and see what the new IP address is. See IP Address Diagnostics

ping

This program sends "packets" to a host and waits for a reply. It will tell you whether or not the packets were recieved, and how long it takes for each one to come back.

C:\>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [64.233.167.99] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 64.233.167.99: bytes=32 time=49ms TTL=245
Reply from 64.233.167.99: bytes=32 time=49ms TTL=245
Reply from 64.233.167.99: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=245
Reply from 64.233.167.99: bytes=32 time=52ms TTL=245

Ping statistics for 64.233.167.99:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 49ms, Maximum = 52ms, Average = 50ms

tracert

tracert is used to find out what is happening at each 'hop' along to the way to a destination ie. www.google.com

c:\>tracert www.google.com
Tracing route to www.google.com [64.233.167.104]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.20.10.1
2 2 ms 3 ms 9 ms host-216-211-27-17.tbaytel.net [216.211.27.17]
3 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms host-216-211-65-178.tbaytel.net [216.211.65.178]
4 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms host-216-211-64-162.tbaytel.net [216.211.64.162]
5 34 ms 34 ms 34 ms 66.46.7.193
6 35 ms 43 ms 36 ms gw-google.torontointernetxchange.net [198.32.245.6]
7 36 ms 36 ms 35 ms 66.249.94.75
8 48 ms 48 ms 48 ms 216.239.46.13
9 50 ms 54 ms 49 ms 66.249.94.135
10 59 ms 59 ms 49 ms 64.233.175.26
11 49 ms 51 ms 49 ms py-in-f104.google.com [64.233.167.104]

Trace complete.

netstat

netstat is used to find out what connections a computer currently has open

c:\>netstat
Active Connections

Proto Local Address Foreign Address State
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1214 by2msg2204710.phx.gbl:1863 ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1984 hd-cal1.cia.com:http ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1986 69.26.185.91:http ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1994 ro-in-f99.google.com:http ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1995 ro-in-f99.google.com:http ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1046 localhost:1047 ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1047 localhost:1046 ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1048 localhost:1049 ESTABLISHED
TCP thb-helpdesk007:1049 localhost:1048 ESTABLISHED