Windows 2000 Command Prompt Troubleshooting Tools

Windows 2000 Command Prompt Troubleshooting Tools

Networking Tools

= Ping.exe : The BIG one. This is probably one of the most used tools for TCP/IP. Ping sends ICMP Echo Reques= ts to verify that TCP/IP is configured correctly and that a remote TCP/IP sy= stem is available. Ping is very customizable through switches. This should be your f= irst stop during times of networking problems. Using it to test network response time is but one of it's many functions.
= Arp.exe := allows you to view and modify the ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) cache on the interface of= the local computer to detect invalid entries.
= Nslookup.exe : Check records, domain = host aliases, domain host services, and operating system information by querying Internet domain name servers. When you start Nslookup, it shows the host name and IP address of the DNS server that is config= ured for the local system, and then display a command prompt for further queries. If you type a question mark (?), Nslooku= p shows all available commands. You can exit the program by typing exit.= To look up a host's IP address using DNS, type the host name and press En= ter. Nslookup defaults to using the DNS server configured for the computer on which it is running, but you can focus = it on a different DNS server by typing server (where is the host name of = the server you want to use for future lookups). Once another server is specified, anything entered after that point is interpreted as a host name. =
= Hostname.exe : Displays the hostname = of the computer. <= o:p>
= Ipconfig.exe : Displays current TCP/IP network configuration values. You can update or release DHCP (Dynamic = Host Configuration Protocol) allocated leases, and display register, or flu= sh DNS (Domain Name System) names. Output can be redirected to a file if desired.
= Nbtstat.exe : Check the state of cur= rent Netbios over TCP/IP connections, update the NETB= IOS name cache, and determine the registered names and scope ID. Nbtstat is designed to help troubleshoot NetBIOS= name resolution problems. When a network is working ok, NetBIOS over TCP/IP= (NetBT) resolves NetBIOS names to IP addresses. I= t does this through several options for NetBIOS name resolution, including lo= cal cache lookup, WINS server query, broadcast, LMHOSTS lookup, Hosts look= up, and DNS server query.
= Netstat.exe : Displays protocol stat= istics and current TCP/IP connections. Very cool utility. Try running it while connected to the net.
= Pathping.exe : Trace a path to a remo= te system and report packet losses at each router along the way. Pathping combines features of Tracert and ping. <= o:p>
= Route.exe : Display the IP routing table, and add or delete IP routes.
Tracert: Trace a path to a rem= ote system. This tool gives you the number of hops a packet must make to g= et there, and the IP address of each hop. It does this for a maximum of 30 hops. This tool is very useful for seeing where a problem with a slow response time may lie.
= NetDiag.exe : a diagnostic tool that= helps isolate networking and connectivity problems by performing a series of tests to determine the state your network client and whether it is functional. Using the /l switch will output results to netdiag.log as the results can be lengthy. This tool will likely not be installed = on your system by default. What you must do is go into your Windows 2000 = CD in the support/tools directory. Run the setup file there for full acce= ss to the Windows 2000 Support Tools. I had problems with getting this program running due to fatal errors from it, but see how you make out. I'll keeps troubleshooting it to see what I can do.

Non Networking Tools

/? switch displays op= tions on these utilities as well.

= Sfc.exe := System File Checker. T= his utility scans protected system files and replaces files overwritten wi= th the correct system files provided by Microsoft. This could prove to be= an invaluable tool for repairing your system after some of those search and replace programs that we all know so well get through with your system files.

= Verifier.exe : Driver Verifier. This utility runs a series of checks in the Windows 2000 Kernel to expose errors in kernel-mode drivers. It can gather statistics from the kerne= l, which are displayed by the GUI or logged in a file. Running verifier w= ith no command line switches starts Driver Verifier Manager, which is in a= GUI interface. =

= Drivers.exe : Lists all drivers curr= ently running on a system from the %SystemRoot%System32drivers folder. You c= an use this tool to identify a driver that may be causing problems due to corruption or because it is missing, not loaded, or outdated.