Windows Commands

Question 1

PING X
where X, the target, is an IP
address or fully qualified
name, like
www.example.com

Answer 1

Used to test connectivity TO and FROM a target device. The source computer
sends out an “echo request” to the target, who will reply back with an “echo
reply” if they received the message. If the source receives an echo reply, this
confirms bi-directional communication over the network. Also, if you ping by
name, it will allow you to see if DNS is working.

Question 2

TRACERT X
Where X, the target, is an IP
address or fully qualified
name, like
www.example.com

Answer 2

Used to show all of the routers/servers between you (the source) and the target
(destination). This is similar to PING but now you can see all of the routers along
the way. This helps troubleshoot if there is a problem between two points.

Question 3

IPCONFIG

Answer 3

By itself, this command shows you your current IP address, network mask, and
default gateway (the router that connects you to other networks or the internet).
Add any of the following to the end of Ipconfig to get different results:
/ALL - shows all basic info, plus MAC address, IP lease time, and DNS/DHCP
servers.
/RELEASE - gives the IP address BACK to the DHCP server
/RENEW - asks DHCP for a refresh on the IP lease time
/DISPLAYDNS - shows all DNS info in our cache
/FLUSHDNS - clears all DNS info in our cache

Question 4

NSLOOKUP X
Where X is a fully qualified
name or IP address

Answer 4

If you enter a name, such as www.google.com, you will perform a forward
lookup/query on port 53 through DNS, and receive an IP address as a result.
If you enter an IP address, such as 8.8.8.8, you will perform a reverse
lookup/query on port 53 through DNS, and receive a fully qualified name as a
result.

Question 5

Netstat

Answer 5

Short for Network Statistics. This will show you all of your active network
connections. If you use any of the following commands after netstat, it will give
you more information:
-a (short for ALL) now it will show you open ports that aren’t even being used,
usually called listening ports.
-n will show all the IP addresses instead of only names.
-o will show what processes opened this connection. This function requires
admin privileges.

Question 6

NBTstat

Answer 6

Short for Network Bios Statistics. This will show you information about users and
groups that have been seen on the local network, communicating through
netbios.

Question 7

Bootrec /fixmbt

Answer 7

This command is only used in the recovery command prompted when a hard
drive has a corrupted boot record. The command is short for “fix the master
boot”. You will need this if the Windows OS can’t be found on the hard drive
due to a corrupted boot record.