One of the most effective ways to use command line utilities on a Windows XP system is to add them to a batch file, and then schedule them to run automatically using the Scheduled Tasks tool in Control Panel. Going back to the days of MS-DOS, users have used simple batch files to automate everything […]

Last but not least, take a closer look at the TELNET command. This command allows you to remotely connect to a server running the Telnet service, and then interact with it as though you were sitting at the command line of that system.
This is a wonderful tool to interact with remote systems, such as […]

In cases where you don’t need the detailed information that PATHPING provides in generating diagnostic information about the route between your PC and a destination host, try the TRACERT command. TRACERT literally traces the path between a source and destination host, showing you which intermediate routers are traversed on the journey.
This command is much […]

A more advanced version of the PING command, PATHPING provides more detailed network troubleshooting information by not only sending requests to the destination host specified, but also all intermediate routers on the path to the destination. Ultimately, this allows the tool to calculate the degree of packet loss every step of the way to the […]

Perhaps no command line utility is more familiar to users than PING. On a TCP/IP network, the PING utility allows you to determine whether another system is reachable, while at the same time providing basic diagnostic information such as whether any packets are being lost en route. When troubleshooting a network connection, PING is almost […]

It’s not unusual to run into DNS problems when attempting to connect to Internet-based servers using names like www.yahoo.com. If you find that your are experiencing problems connecting to resources by name, the NSLOOKUP command can be used to query DNS servers for answers. For example, without any switches, the NSLOOKUP command will display information […]

Ever curious about the network connections that your XP systems has open to resources on your local network or the Internet? If so, the NETSTAT utility has the answers. This tool will display information about current connections to and from your system, including details of port numbers in use, the names or addresses or remote […]

If you’re connected to a TCP/IP network, the IPCONFIG utility is one that you need to be familiar with. Most users are familiar with the tool from using it to renew an IP address allocated by a DHCP server via the /renew switch. However, IPCONFIG provides a wealth of useful information about your system’s TCP/IP […]

Windows XP ships with a great little piece of FTP client software. In cases where you’re using an XP system without a graphical FTP client installed, you can easily access FTP servers (and upload and download files) by using the command line FTP utility. For more information on how to use this tool, see the […]

If your computer has an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network adapter card installed and is connected to a TCP/IP network, the Address Resolution Protocol is used to map IP addresses of systems you are communicating with on the local network to their network card’s physical MAC address. The ARP command allows you to view the MAC […]