Showing posts with label commands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commands. Show all posts

15 Must Know Windows Run Commands - Updated

August 05, 2015
On the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Run command is used to directly open an application or document whose path is known.

15 Must Know Windows Run Commands - Updated


We will show up you 15 awesome Run commands that’d helps you to bypass a series of clicks, thereby making things faster in your daily usage of Windows.


Do note that the Run hasn’t disappeared in Windows 8 either. It might not show up like it did in its predecessors, but a simple Win+R keystroke would bring it up. Hence knowing how to use it is only going to help you.

run-cmd.jpg


Note: To run these commands, press Win+R button to open the Run box, type in the command you want to run and press the enter key.

Here are the Commands start from :


1. cleanmgr

To do a disk cleanup with a simple steps which is having a default program, no need to use any third party applications to clean your system (temp, Internet cache junk... etc.)

Probably, the easiest way to clean up the junk files accumulated in your computer. Run the command to open up the Windows Disk Cleanup Manager, select the drive you want to clean and click ok. Computer will then scan the particular drive for junk files and give the option to clean them.

cleanmgr

2. %userprofile%

Just like the previous command, this will open up the user profile directory for the particular user. You can access your picture, music, videos and other personal folders easily from here.

3. control

If you want to open your system Control Panel, this command will open it up for you directly. You’ll be surprised how few people know this one. So many of my so called geeky friends had no notion about this one.

We will be seeing how to open certain Control Panel settings directly as we proceed.

4. %programfiles%

We have to open program files most of the time to run and manage installed applications. This command will open your Program Files folder directly no matter on which drive Windows is installed on your computer. It’s better than opening Windows Explorer and then navigating to the folder manually.

5. compmgmt.msc

The command will open Computer Management, directly which you open conventionally by right-clicking on My Computer (or Computer), and selecting Manage. One can manage shared folders, manage disk services and take care of other management stuff using that window.

6. firewall.cpl

Want to disable or enable firewall quickly? Type in firewall.cpl in the Run box and press enter. Takes you right into Windows Firewall.

7. fsmgmt.msc

fsmgmt.msc

Keep track of all the shared folder and devices using this command. You can control sharing on your computer easily from here.

8. Open Web Browser (iexplore, chrome, firefox, opera)

These commands will open up Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera on your system respectively if they are installed on your computer. That’s not all. You can append the URL of the website at the end of the browser name to open the website directly. For e.g. if you want to open Guiding Tech on Chrome, open Run Command and type in Chrome www.guidingtech.com and press enter. For the note, this command is my personal favorite (no points for guessing why).

9. msinfo32

system informaition


Probably, the easiest way to see your computer’s complete system info. Here you can find all the hardware and software information you will need to know about your computer.

10. Netplwiz

user Account


This command is useful for a multi-user computer. Administrators can directly open User Account advance configuration and configure any account they would like. Other users, however, can edit and change their personal account preferences.

11. osk

osk

Abbreviation for On Screen Keyboard, this one opens it on your computer screen. You can use these on screen keyboards to fight keyloggers while browsing through a shared public computer.

12. Logoff/shutdown

As the name speaks, these commands quickly logoff a user or shut down the computer respectively. You can also use “shutdown –a” to abort a system shutdown, but you have to be very quick while using the command.

13. utilman

We have seen how osk can open the on screen keyboard Windows utility, but if you want to use magnifier or a narrator, this command will open up the full utility manager for you.

14. wuapp


This command will open up the Windows Update Manager for you. You can then install and configure your Windows updates from here.

15. write

Just as the notepad command is used to open Windows Notepad, write launches the default Windows WordPad. Oh, you never knew this existed, did you? Try it out.


For more Usefull Commands - Visit Here





Command prompts for Windows

Command prompts for Windows

October 12, 2009

Command prompts for Windows





Some of these command below can cause harmful an undesirable functions, leading to the formatting of your hard disk and data loss, while others will not run under Windows XP. As for Windows Vista the Run Tab is not visible in the start up menu. Windows Vista specific command prompts are not included.

Feel free to add any additional information and tips, you think necessary.

Here is a list of commands you can use under Microsoft Windows prearranged depending of their functionality :

  • Control Panel
  • Windows utility and applications
  • Disk management
  • Connection management
  • Miscellaneous commands




Control Panel

  • CONTROL: opens the control panel window
  • CONTROL ADMINTOOLS: opens the administrative tools
  • CONTROL KEYBOARD: opens keyboard properties
  • CONTROL COLOUR: opens display properties.Appearance tab
  • CONTROL FOLDERS: opens folder options
  • CONTROL FONTS: opens font policy management
  • CONTROL INTERNATIONAL or INTL.CPL: opens Regional and Language option
  • CONTROL MOUSE or MAIN.CPL: opens mouse properties
  • CONTROL USERPASSWORDS: opens User Accounts editor
  • CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2 or NETPLWIZ: User account access restrictions
  • CONTROL PRINTERS: opens faxes and printers available
  • APPWIZ.CPL: opens Add or Remove programs utility tool
  • OPTIONALFEATURES: opens Add or Remove Windows component utility
  • DESK.CPL: opens display properties. Themes tab
  • HDWWIZ.CPL: opens add hardware wizard
  • IRPROPS.CPL: infrared utility tool
  • JOY.CP: opens game controllers settings
  • MMSYS.CPL: opens Sound and Audio device Properties. Volume tab
  • SYSDM.CPL: opens System properties
  • TELEPHON.CPL: Opens phone and Modem options
  • TIMEDATE.CPL: Date and Time properties
  • WSCUI.CPL: opens Windows Security Center
  • ACCESS.CPL: opens Accessibility Options
  • WUAUCPL.CPL: opens Automatic Updates
  • POWERCFG.CPL: opens Power Options Properties
  • AZMAN.MSC: opens authorisation management utility tool
  • CERTMGR.MSC: opens certificate management tool
  • COMPMGMT.MSC: opens the Computer management tool
  • COMEXP.MSC or DCOMCNFG: opens the Computer Services management tool
  • DEVMGMT.MSC: opens Device Manager
  • EVENTVWR or EVENTVWR.MSC: opens Event Viewer
  • FSMGMT.MSC: opens Shared Folders
  • NAPCLCFG.MSC: NAP Client configuration utility tool
  • SERVICES.MSC: opens Service manager
  • TASKSCHD.MSC or CONTROL SCHEDTASKS: opens Schedule Tasks manager
  • GPEDIT.MSC: opens Group Policy utility tool
  • LUSRMGR.MSC: opens Local Users and Groups
  • SECPOL.MSC: opens local security settings
  • CIADV.MSC: opens indexing service
  • NTMSMGR.MSC: removable storage manager
  • NTMSOPRQ.MSC: removable storage operator requests
  • WMIMGMT.MSC: opens (WMI) Window Management Instrumentation
  • PERFMON or PERFMON.MSC: opens the Performance monitor
  • MMC: opens empty Console
  • MDSCHED: opens memory diagnostics tools
  • DXDIAG: opens DirectX diagnostics tools
  • ODBCAD32: opens ODBC Data source Administrator
  • REGEDIT or REGEDT32: opens Registry Editor
  • DRWTSN32: opens Dr. Watson
  • VERIFIER: opens Driver Verifier Manager
  • CLICONFG: opens SQL Server Client Network Utility
  • UTILMAN: opens Utility Manager
  • COLORCPL: opens color management
  • CREDWIZ: back up and recovery tool for user passwords
  • MOBSYNC: opens Synchronization center
  • MSCONFIG: opens System Configuration Utility
  • SYSEDIT: opens System Configuration Editor (careful while using this command)
  • SYSKEY: Windows Account Database Security management (careful while using this command)


Windows utility and applications

  • EPLORER: Opens windows Explorer
  • IEXPLORER: Opens Internet explorer
  • WAB: opens Contacts
  • CHARMAP: opens Character Map
  • WRITE: opens WordPad
  • NOTEPAD: opens Notepad
  • CALC: opens Calculator
  • CLIPBRD: opens Clipbook Viewer
  • WINCHAT: opens Microsoft Chat Interface
  • SOUNDRECORDER: opens sound recording tool
  • DVDPLAY: run CD or DVD
  • WMPLAYER: opens Windows Media Player
  • MOVIEMK: Opens untitled Windows Movie Maker
  • OSK: opens on-screen Keyboard
  • MAGNIFY: opens Magnifier
  • WINCAL: opens Calendar
  • DIALER: opens phone Dialer
  • EUDCEDIT: opens Private Character Editor
  • NDVOL: opens the mixer volume
  • RSTRUI : opens Tool System Restore (For Vista only)
  • %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32\RESTORE\rstrui.exe: opens Tool System Restore (for XP only).
  • MSINFO32: Opens the System Information
  • MRT : launches the utility removal of malware.
  • Taskmgr : Opens the Windows Task Manager
  • CMD: opens a command prompt
  • MIGWIZ: Opens the tool for transferring files and settings from Windows (Vista only)
  • Migwiz.exe: Opens the tool for transferring files and settings from Windows (for XP only)
  • SIDEBAR: Open the Windows (Vista only)
  • Sigverif : Opens the tool for verification of signatures of files
  • Winver : Opens the window for your Windows version
  • FSQUIRT: Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
  • IExpress opens the wizard for creating self-extracting archives. Tutorial HERE
  • MBLCTR: opens the mobility center (Windows Vista only)
  • MSRA : Opens the Windows Remote Assistance
  • Mstsc : opens the tool connection Remote Desktop
  • MSDT: opens the diagnostic tools and support Microsoft
  • WERCON: opens the reporting tool and solutions to problems (for Vista only)
  • WINDOWSANYTIMEUPGRADE: Enables the upgrade of Windows Vista
  • WINWORD : opens Word (if installed)
  • PRINTBRMUI : Opens migration wizard printer (Vista only)


Disk management

  • DISKMGMT.MSC: opens disk management utility
  • CLEANMGR: opens disk drive clean up utility
  • DFRG.MSC: opens disk defragmenter
  • CHKDSK: complete analysis of disk partition
  • DISKPART: disk partitioning tool


Connection management

  • IPCONFIG: list the configuration of IP addresses on your PC (for more information type IPCONFIG/? in the CMD menu)
  • INETCPL.CPL: opens internet properties
  • FIREWALL.CPL: opens windows firewall
  • NETSETUP.CPL: opens network setup wizard


Miscellaneous commands

  • JAVAWS: View the cover of JAVA software (if installed)
  • AC3FILTER.CPL: Opens the properties AC3 Filter (if installed)
  • FIREFOX: Mozilla launches Firefox (if installed)
  • NETPROJ: allow or not connecting to a network projector (For Vista only)
  • LOGOFF: closes the current session
  • SHUTDOWN: shut down Windows
  • SHUTDOWN-A: to interrupt Windows shutdown
  • %WINDIR% or %SYSTEMROOT%: opens the Windows installation
  • %PROGRAMFILES%: Opens the folder where you installed other programs (Program Files)
  • %USERPROFILE%: opens the profile of the user currently logged
  • %HOMEDRIVE%: opens the browser on the partition or the operating system is installed
  • %HOMEPATH%: opens the currently logged user C: \ Documents and Settings \ [username]
  • %TEMP%: opens the temporary folder
  • VSP1CLN: deletes the cache for installation of the service pack 1 for Vista
  • System File Checker (Requires Windows CD if the cache is not available):
    • SFC / scannow: immediately scans all system files and repairs damaged files
    • SFC / VERIFYONLY: scans only those files system
    • SFC / Scanfil = "name and file path": scans the specified file, and repaired if damaged
    • SFC / VERIFYFILE = "name and file path": Scans only the file specified
    • SFC / scanonce: scans the system files on the next restart
    • SFC / REVERT: return the initial configuration (For more information, type SFC /? In the command prompt CMD.







Debug a Windows XP batch file and output the current date and time to a log file

Debug a Windows XP batch file and output the current date and time to a log file

August 21, 2009
The Windows 2003 Resource Kit comes with a batch file command, logtime, that lets you output the current time, date, and a custom text message to a log file. This is great for benchmarking batch files and commands in that you can output when such a command starts and completes.

To run logtime, first download and install the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit using the instructions mentioned in MalekTips (check the other Windows XP and DOS command tips).

Once the Resource Kit is installed, to view the online help for logtime:

C:\>logtime /?

To write a message to the text file "logtime.log" in the current directory, just issue this command:

C:\>logtime "MESSAGE"

For example, the following command will write the current day, time, and message "Command just completed" to the file logtime.log:

C:\>logtime "Command just completed"

Note that this will display the results of the command to the standard output as well. To hide this:

C:\>@logtime "Command just completed" > nul
XP: kill a Windows process from the command line with taskkill

XP: kill a Windows process from the command line with taskkill

August 21, 2009


The ability to perform tasks from a system’s command line allows those tasks to be used in batch files. This recipe describes several uses of taskkill to terminate Windows processes.

If you know the name of a process to kill, for example notepad.exe, use the following command from a command prompt to end it:

taskkill /IM notepad.exe


This will cause the program to terminate gracefully, asking for confirmation if there are unsaved changes. To forcefully kill the same process, add the /F option to the command line. Be careful with the /F option as it will terminate all matching processes without confirmation.To kill a single instance of a process, specify its process id (PID). For example, if the desired process has a PID of 827, use the following command to kill it:

taskkill /PID 827


Using filters, a variety of different patterns can be used to specify the processes to kill. For example, the following filter syntax will forcefully kill all processes owned by the user Quinn:

taskkill /F /FI “USERNAME eq Quinn”


The following table shows the available filters and their use.

Filter Name Valid Operators Valid Value(s)
———– ————— ————–
STATUS eq ne RUNNING | NOT RESPONDING
IMAGENAME eq ne Image name
PID eq ne gt lt ge le PID value
SESSION eq ne gt lt ge le Session number.
CPUTIME eq ne gt lt ge le CPU time in the format
of hh:mm:ss.
MEMUSAGE eq ne gt lt ge le Memory usage in KB
USERNAME eq ne User name in [domain\]user
format
MODULES eq ne DLL name
SERVICES eq ne Service name
WINDOWTITLE eq ne Window titleeq: equals ne: not equal
gt: greater than lt: less than
gt: greater than or equal le: less than or equal

WindowsXP: Using the Command prompt to see and kill processes

WindowsXP: Using the Command prompt to see and kill processes

August 21, 2009
If you are a WindowsXP user then you must be already familiar with the life-saving graphical tool called “Task Manager” on Windows. Whenever the PC starts hanging and the processes start eating up a lot of memory (Sadly most of the time its Firefox for me), we press the alt+ctr+del key to bring up the the “Task Manager” and try to kill the memory eating processes and the ones which are “not responding”. Well, you should also know that this can be done efficiently from the command prompt as well.

As my project work requires writing and running codes, I generally have at least one Windows command prompt open. If this is the case with you then it is much faster to manage your windows processes from command prompt than to open up the Task Manager, just like we do on Linux using “ps” and “kill” command. Get to know the following commands and you can easily use the command prompt to see and kill processes.

1. Tasklist : This command is similar to “ps” command on Linux and is used to see the details of the programs and processes that are running in Windows. Tasklist can be applied to see how much memory and CPU time running processes are using, what DLL files they rely on, and other information. Thus it can be a very useful troubleshooting tool.

  • Processes info: When you enter tasklist on the command prompt, you can see the following informations by default. Image Name, PID, Session Name, Session#, Mem Usage
  • Processes detailed info: Additional info like, Status, User Name, CPU Time, Window Title can be displayed using tasklist /v
  • Services and Processes info: Use tasklist /svc to get a table relating Image Name, PID, and Services, very useful to know the relationship between a process and the services that are running on a system.
  • dlls and Processes info: Tasks and Use tasklist /m to find which DLLs are used by each process.
  • Filtering processes: Processes can be filtered using ImageName, PID, MemUsage, Status, Username and WindowTitle. For Example,
    • Use the following command to to find processes that are not responding.
      • tasklist /fi "status eq not responding"
    • Use the folliwing to list the processes eating up more than 10MB.
      • tasklist /fi "memusage gt 10000"
  • More Info: To get more info on advanced syntax of the command use tasklist /? or refer to Microsoft’s documentation.

(NOTE: Although Tasklist is a part of Windows XP Professional, it does not come with the Home edition. Those with the Home version of XP can download this file and can put it in the system path.)

2. Tskill : This command is used to end a process, using its name of its PID.

  • Kill with name: Use tskill processname to kill a process with name processname. For example:
    • tskill winword (closes all the Microsoft documents that you have open)
  • Kill with PID : Similarly use tskill processid to kill a process with PID processid. Tasklist can be used to find the PID of a process.
  • More Info: To get more info on advanced syntax of the command use tskill /? or refer to Microsoft’s documentation.

(NOTE: Tskill is a part of both Windows XP Professional and the Home edition.)

3. Taskkill : Similar to Tskill, this command is also used to end a process but it provides us more options in doing so. Apart from specifying the PID or the image name of the process to kill, we can also use ceratin filters to kill the matching processes as explained below.

  • Kill with name: Use taskill /IM imagename to kill a process with the given Image name. For example:
    • taskkill /im notepad.exe /f (forces notepad to be killed.)
  • Kill with PID : Use taskill /PID processid to kill a process with the given processid.
  • Filtering Taskkill: Processes to be killed can be filtered using ImageName, PID, MemUsage, CPUTime, Session, Status, Username, WindowTitle, Services or Modules (dll). For Example,
    • Use the following command to forcefully shut down all the processes that are not responding.
      • taskkill /f /fi "status eq not responding"
    • Use the folliwing to close down all programs using more than 10 MB..
      • taskkill /f /fi "memusage gt 10000"
  • More Info: To get more info on advanced syntax of the command use taskkill /? or refer to Microsoft’s documentation.

(NOTE: Taskkill is only a part of Windows XP Professional.)

Assign Folder as a Drive

Assign Folder as a Drive

July 25, 2009
Had you heard about assigning a folder as a drive? Several user may need a daily used folder as a drive that appear in "my computer". Here it's the trick;
  1. Open up "command prompt" by typing "cmd" at run box
  2. At "command prompt", type; "subst [drive letter] [folder path address]". eg: "subst m: d:\userfolder"
  3. Hit enter and you can see [as an example a new drive: m:\ drive appear in "my computer"
  4. Simple and easy huh? This assigned drive will be deactivate when you reboot your comp.
  5. So, you can make an auto startup program for this assigned drive.
  6. Here come the trick; Simply open up notepad and type this codes : "subst [drive letter] [folder path address]". eg: "subst m: d:\userfolder" and save it as "urfilename".bat.
  7. This is a batch file that runs the command when you double-click it. "urfilename" refer to any name that you want to put. But make sure you keep the file with *.bat extension in order to make it able to be executed.
  8. Then, simply copy this file to the startup folder under "start>all programs>startup"
  9. This means you have just set up that batch file to runs every time the comp rebooted
Fixing Double-Click Problems In Your Drive

Fixing Double-Click Problems In Your Drive

July 25, 2009
Cannot double-click your drive? My buddy : right here have a brief explanation about how to fix it using flash disinfector and CHKDSK. But here is my solution to fix it within the power of Command Prompt [CMD]

Several things you must know first :

1. When you double-click your drive, it can't be accessed and an alert pop-out : "cannot find file.js@file.exe@file.vbs@something similar".

2. What is the main problems?
Autorun.inf file cannot find the specific file to be executed [been deleted due to virus alert from antivirus software or accidentally deleted]

3. Autorun.inf usage :
  • Not all "autorun.inf" is written to execute the VIRUS.
  • "autorun.inf" may also automatically load a programs in the Interactive-CD media.
  • It can load a portable software for USB drive such as "PortableApps"
  • You can set your drive icon by write some codes in it [will be posted later]
  • So, "autorun.inf" is NOT A VIRUS. It's a kinda file that run under System Explorer.
Looking by the two main cause of these problems, there is 2 simple solution here:

1st :
If you accidentally deleted the files [the programs compiled with "autorun.inf" accidentally deleted]
Solution :
Just unhide the "hidden folder" [tool > folder options > views > "tick" the "show hidden files & folder"]. Then you can delete the "autorun.inf" files [navigate into the drive using the "address bar"]. Your drive can be accessed by using double-click after the comp rebooted.

2nd :
If the files compiled with "autorun.inf" have been deleted automatically due to antivirus response to a suspected files, which means, the compiled files with "autorun.inf" is a virus suspected file. So, the virus can't be executed when you double-click the drive. Antivirus won't delete the "autorun.inf" because it is NOT A VIRUS.
Solution :
Open up Command Prompt [start > run > type "CMD"]

  • The command prompt will now open. Type "attrib -s -h -r -a x:\autorun.inf"
  • Then type "del x:\autorun.inf"

Explanation :
"attrib" : attribute
"s" : system file attribute
"h" : hidden file attribute
"r" : read-only file attribute
"a" : archive file attribute
"x" : this should be change with your drive letter such as C or D or any drive you want to fix
"del" : delete file
"-" : this -ve sign stand for remove, so that it will remove the attribute within the files

So. After you runs the command above, you have successfully remove the "autorun.inf" file in your drive. Just make sure you change the "x" value with your drive letter. Reboot the computer and it's done. Below is a sample advance batch file to remove "autorun.inf" that i've made specially for all my blog reader using these commands above.

Downlaod a sample batch file click here

Restart or Shutdown Windows (XP, 2000 and Vista) from Command Line or One-Click Shortcut

June 17, 2009
In order to shutdown or restart the Windows with just one click shortcut or from command line, users can use shutdown command line utility/command that comes with Windows 2000 (with the Resource Kit installed) and Windows XP or Windows Vista (native). To access shutdown command, simply go to DOS command prompt by clicking on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt or Start -> Run and then type in Cmd to launch a command prompt window.

Type shutdown -s -t 01 Here "01" Means time for shutdown in no. of Seconds.

If you want brief discription for shutdown command

Type
shutdown /? in command line




Multi Ping batch file script

June 03, 2009
If you want ping for multi ip address and know the status in log file
This script will help you a lot
copy this all script in a notepad
save as ping.bat file on desktop

And create a computers.txt text document in c:\ ( C drive)
Here give required IP address in computers.txt file
Like





Now You can ping and check the status N number of ip's at a time.

open ping.bat file which is saved on desktop

Its going to ping all ips and open a new log file with the status of all ip's


Its really helpful to system and network administrators.


@echo off
(Set InputFile=c:\Computers.txt) title,Pinging list of computers &color 9e ::datestamp for /f "tokens=2-4 skip=1 delims=(-./)" %%i in ('echo.^|date') do ( for /f "tokens=1-4 delims=-./ " %%m in ('date /t') do ( (set dow=%%m)&(set %%i=%%n)&(set %%j=%%o)&(set yy=%%p) ) ) For /F "tokens=1,2 delims=:, " %%i in ('TIME /T') Do (Set HHMM=%%i%%j) (Set OutputFile=c:\Pinglog %yy%-%mm%-%dd% %HHMM%.txt) If Exist "%OutputFile%" Del "%OutputFile%" For /F "eol=;" %%* in ('type "%InputFile%"') do ( >>"%OutputFile%" (echo.&echo.---------------&( echo.%%*;&(ping -a -n 2 -w 750 %%* | Find ".")) )&echo.done %%*,) ::check start notepad.exe %OutputFile%

Using NSlookup.exe Command Help From Microsoft

Using NSlookup.exe Command Help From Microsoft

May 21, 2009
Nslookup.exe is a command-line administrative tool for testing and troubleshooting DNS servers. This tool is installed along with the TCP/IP protocol through Control Panel. This article includes several tips for using Nslookup.exe.

To use Nslookup.exe, please note the following:
  • The TCP/IP protocol must be installed on the computer running Nslookup.exe
  • At least one DNS server must be specified when you run the IPCONFIG /ALL command from a command prompt.
  • Nslookup will always devolve the name from the current context. If you fail to fully qualify a name query (that is, use trailing dot), the query will be appended to the current context. For example, the current DNS settings are att.com and a query is performed on www.microsoft.com; the first query will go out as www.microsoft.com.att.com because of the query being unqualified. This behavior may be inconsistent with other vendor's versions of Nslookup, and this article is presented to clarify the behavior of Microsoft Windows NT Nslookup.exe
  • If you have implemented the use of the search list in the Domain Suffix Search Order defined on the DNS tab of the Microsoft TCP/IP Properties page, devolution will not occur. The query will be appended to the domain suffixes specified in the list. To avoid using the search list, always use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (that is, add the trailing dot to the name).

Nslookup.exe can be run in two modes: interactive and noninteractive. Noninteractive mode is useful when only a single piece of data needs to be returned. The syntax for noninteractive mode is:

   nslookup [-option] [hostname] [server]

To start Nslookup.exe in interactive mode, simply type "nslookup" at the command prompt:

   C:\> nslookup
Default Server: nameserver1.domain.com
Address: 10.0.0.1
>

Typing "help" or "?" at the command prompt will generate a list of available commands. Anything typed at the command prompt that is not recognized as a valid command is assumed to be a host name and an attempt is made to resolve it using the default server. To interrupt interactive commands, press CTRL+C. To exit interactive mode and return to the command prompt, type exit at the command prompt.

The following is the help output and contains the complete list of options:

Commands:   (identifiers are shown in uppercase, [] means optional)

NAME - print info about the host/domain NAME using default
server
NAME1 NAME2 - as above, but use NAME2 as server
help or ? - print info on common commands
set OPTION - set an option

all - print options, current server and host
[no]debug - print debugging information
[no]d2 - print exhaustive debugging information
[no]defname - append domain name to each query
[no]recurse - ask for recursive answer to query
[no]search - use domain search list
[no]vc - always use a virtual circuit
domain=NAME - set default domain name to NAME
srchlist=N1[/N2/.../N6] - set domain to N1 and search list to N1, N2,
and so on
root=NAME - set root server to NAME
retry=X - set number of retries to X
timeout=X - set initial time-out interval to X seconds
type=X - set query type (for example, A, ANY, CNAME, MX,
NS, PTR, SOA, SRV)
querytype=X - same as type
class=X - set query class (for example, IN (Internet), ANY)
[no]msxfr - use MS fast zone transfer
ixfrver=X - current version to use in IXFR transfer request

server NAME - set default server to NAME, using current default server
lserver NAME - set default server to NAME, using initial server
finger [USER] - finger the optional NAME at the current default host
root - set current default server to the root
ls [opt] DOMAIN [> FILE] - list addresses in DOMAIN (optional: output to
FILE)

-a - list canonical names and aliases
-d - list all records
-t TYPE - list records of the given type (for example, A, CNAME,
MX, NS, PTR, and so on)

view FILE - sort an 'ls' output file and view it with pg
exit - exit the program

A number of different options can be set in Nslookup.exe by running the set command at the command prompt. A complete listing of these options is obtained by typing set all. See above, under the set command for a printout of the available options.


Looking up Different Data Types

To look up different data types within the domain name space, use the set type or set q[uerytype] command at the command prompt. For example, to query for the mail exchanger data, type the following:
   C:\> nslookup
Default Server: ns1.domain.com
Address: 10.0.0.1

> set q=mx
> mailhost
Server: ns1.domain.com
Address: 10.0.0.1

mailhost.domain.com MX preference = 0, mail exchanger =
mailhost.domain.com
mailhost.domain.com internet address = 10.0.0.5
>

The first time a query is made for a remote name, the answer is authoritative, but subsequent queries are nonauthoritative. The first time a remote host is queried, the local DNS server contacts the DNS server that is authoritative for that domain. The local DNS server will then cache that information, so that subsequent queries are answered nonauthoritatively out of the local server's cache.



Querying Directly from Another Name Server

To query another name server directly, use the server or lserver commands to switch to that name server. The lserver command uses the local server to get the address of the server to switch to, while the server command uses the current default server to get the address.

Example:
   C:\> nslookup

Default Server: nameserver1.domain.com
Address: 10.0.0.1

> server 10.0.0.2

Default Server: nameserver2.domain.com
Address: 10.0.0.2
>

Using Nslookup.exe to Transfer Entire Zone

Nslookup can be used to transfer an entire zone by using the ls command. This is useful to see all the hosts within a remote domain. The syntax for the ls command is:

   ls [- a | d | t type] domain [> filename]

Using ls with no arguments will return a list of all address and name server data. The -a switch will return alias and canonical names, -d will return all data, and -t will filter by type.

Example:

   >ls domain.com
[nameserver1.domain.com]
nameserver1.domain.com. NS server = ns1.domain.com
nameserver2.domain.com NS server = ns2.domain.com
nameserver1 A 10.0.0.1
nameserver2 A 10.0.0.2

>

Zone transfers can be blocked at the DNS server so that only authorized addresses or networks can perform this function. The following error will be returned if zone security has been set:
*** Can't list domain example.com.: Query refused

For additional information, see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
193837 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/193837/EN-US/ ) Windows NT 4.0 DNS Server Default Zone Security Settings
Back to the top

Troubleshooting Nslookup.exe

Default Server Timed Out

When starting the Nslookup.exe utility, the following errors may occur:
*** Can't find server name for address w.x.y.z: Timed out

NOTE: w.x.y.z is the first DNS server listed in the DNS Service Search Order list.

*** Can't find server name for address 127.0.0.1: Timed out

The first error indicates that the DNS server cannot be reached or the service is not running on that computer. To correct this problem, either start the DNS service on that server or check for possible connectivity problems.

The second error indicates that no servers have been defined in the DNS Service Search Order list. To correct this problem, add the IP address of a valid DNS server to this list.

For additional information, see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
172060 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172060/EN-US/ ) NSLOOKUP: Can't Find Server Name for Address 127.0.0.1

Can't Find Server Name when Starting Nslookup.exe

When starting the Nslookup.exe utility, the following error may occur:

*** Can't find server name for address w.x.y.z: Non-existent domain


This error occurs when there is no PTR record for the name server's IP address. When Nslookup.exe starts, it does a reverse lookup to get the name of the default server. If no PTR data exists, this error message is returned. To correct make sure that a reverse lookup zone exists and contains PTR records for the name servers.

For additional information, see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
172953 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172953/EN-US/ ) How to Install and Configure Microsoft DNS Server

Nslookup on Child Domain Fails

When querying or doing a zone transfer on a child domain, Nslookup may return the following errors:

*** ns.domain.com can't find child.domain.com.: Non-existent domain
*** Can't list domain child.domain.com.: Non-existent domain


In DNS Manager, a new domain can be added under the primary zone, thus creating a child domain. Creating a child domain this way does not create a separate db file for the domain, thus querying that domain or running a zone transfer on it will produce the above errors. Running a zone transfer on the parent domain will list data for both the parent and child domains. To work around this problem, create a new primary zone on the DNS server for the child domain.


APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Editio
NSLOOKUP Commnad Brief Info

NSLOOKUP Commnad Brief Info

May 21, 2009
Syntax:
nslookup

nslookup host-to-find

nslookup server

interactive mode:

nslookup -server

nslookup [-options] [host-to-find ]

Options:

host [server ]
Look up information for host using the current default server or using server,
if specified. If host is an Internet address and the query type is A or PTR ,
the name of the host is returned. If host is a name and does not have a trailing
period, the default domain name is appended to the name. (This behavior depends
on the state of the set options domain , srchlist , defname , and search.

To look up a host not in the current domain, append a period to the name.

server domain
lserver domain
Change the default server to domain ; lserver uses the initial server to look up
information about domain while server uses the current default server.
If an authoritative answer can't be found, the names of servers that might have
the answer are returned.
root
Change the default server to the server for the root of the domain name space.
Currently, the host ns.internic.net is used. (This command is a synonym for
`lserver ns.internic.net' The name of the root server can be changed with
the `set root ' command.

finger [name ] [> filename ]
finger [name ] [>> filename ]
Connects with the finger server on the current host. The current host is
defined when a previous lookup for a host was successful and returned address
information (see the `set querytype=A ' command). The name is optional. > and
>> can be used to redirect output in the usual manner.

ls [option ] domain [> filename ]
ls [option ] domain [>> filename ]
List the information available for domain , optionally creating or appending
to filename The default output contains host names and their Internet addresses.
Option can be one of the following:

-t querytype list all records of the specified type (see querytype below).
-a list aliases of hosts in the domain; synonym for `-t CNAME '
-d list all records for the domain; synonym for `-t ANY'
-h list CPU and operating system information for the domain; synonym for `-t HINFO'
-s list well-known services of hosts in the domain; synonym for `-t WKS'

When output is directed to a file, hash marks are printed for every 50 records
received from the server.

view filename
Sort and lists the output of previous ls command(s) with more(1).

set keyword [= value ]
This command is used to change state information that affects the lookups.
run man nslookup for a full list of valid keywords.

set all Print the current value of the frequently-used options
to set Information about the current default server and host is also printed.

help
? Print a brief summary of commands.

exit Exit the program.

Nslookup has two modes: interactive and non-interactive.

Interactive mode allows the user to query name servers for information about various hosts and domains or to print a list of hosts in a domain.

Non-interactive mode is used to print just the name and requested information for a host or domain.

The options listed under the `set ' command can be specified in the .nslookuprc file in the user's home directory (listed one per line). Options can also be specified on the command line if they precede the arguments and are prefixed with a hyphen.

Help for Batch file configuration

Help for Batch file configuration

May 21, 2009
  • On this page you'll find a shorthand list of common tasks in batch files, and the command(s) that can be used to perform those tasks.

    Notes: Many, if not most, of the commands listed here require Windows 2000 and later, some require Windows XP or later, some require Active Directory.
    Read more detailed information by following the links provided.
    Depending on the Windows version, some commands (e.g. SETX and NETSVC) may require installation of a Resource Kit.

    Task Available command(s) or variable(s)
    Add/remove computer to/from domain NETDOM (1)
    Counters FOR /L or SET /A counter += 1
    Delays PING
    Current date DATE /T or %Date% or DEBUG
    Current directory CD or %CD%
    Current drive %CD:~0,2%
    Current time TIME /T or %Time% or DEBUG
    Directory of current batch file %~dp0
    Drive of current batch file %~d0
    Environment, permanent changes SETX (2)
    Firewall configuration NETSH
    Harddisk & volume management DISKPART, FDISK, FORMAT, CONVERT, MOUNTVOL, VOL, CHKDSK, CHKNTFS, DEFRAG
    Hardware inventory WMIC
    IP address (local) PING %ComputerName%, NSLOOKUP %ComputerName% or IPCONFIG /ALL
    IP address (remote) PING, NSLOOKUP or WMIC
    IP address (WAN) to file WGET -O output_filename -q http://www.whatismyip.com/automation/n09230945.asp (3)
    IP address (WAN) to screen WGET -q -O- http://www.whatismyip.com/automation/n09230945.asp (3)
    Logoff Multiple commands available
    Open a file, folder or web page START
    Permissions CACLS, XCACLS (2), MMC & SECEDIT, SUBINACL (3) or SETACL (3)
    Popup dialogs NET Send %ComputerName%
    Print text NOTEPAD /P
    Print anything ASSOC, FTYPE & REGEDIT or REG
    Printer management RUNDLL32 PRINTUI.DLL,PrintUIEntry
    Process management Multiple commands available
    Prompt for user input SET /P & more
    Read text files FOR /F or occasionaly <>
    Reboot Multiple commands available
    Registry REGEDIT or REG
    Service management NET Stop, NET Start, SC or NETSVC (2)
    Shutdown Multiple commands available
    Unicode to ASCII conversion TYPE
    User/group management NET, DSADD, DSGET, DSMOD, DSMOVE, DSQUERY & DSRM (1) or CSVDE & LDIFDE (1)
    Write text files Redirected ECHO

    Notes: (1) Requires Windows XP with Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack, or Windows Server 2003 or later.
    (2) Resource Kit tool
    (3) Third party tool
Using NSLOOKUP for DNS Server diagnosis

Using NSLOOKUP for DNS Server diagnosis

May 21, 2009
The DNS protocol has been around for decades and is a stable and reliable protocol. Even so, DNS does occasionally have problems. PING is a great tool for DNS server diagnosis, and I tend to use it quite frequently myself. However, sometimes PING just doesn’t give you enough information about the problem at hand. When you need more information about a DNS problem than what PING provides you with, you can always turn to the NSLOOKUP command. In this article, I will show you how to use NSLOOKUP.

The DNS protocol has been around for decades and is a stable and reliable protocol. Even so, DNS does occasionally have problems. These problems might stem from a loss of connectivity, an invalid DNS record, or a number of other issues. When a DNS server doesn’t behave in the way that it is expected to, many people turn to the PING command for help. PING is a great tool for DNS server diagnosis, and I tend to use it quite frequently myself. However, sometimes PING just doesn’t give you enough information about the problem at hand. When you need more information about a DNS problem than what PING provides you with, you can always turn to the NSLOOKUP command. NSLOOKUP is a built in DNS diagnostic utility that’s available to both Windows and UNIX Administrators. In this article, I will show you how to use NSLOOKUP.


The Basics

NSLOOKUP has a fairly rich syntax and can be a bit confusing for those who have not worked with DNS a great deal. Therefore, I want to start out by showing you some of the basics. Although NSLOOKUP exists in both UNIX and Windows, there are some differences in the way that it behaves in the two operating systems. For the purposes of this article, I will be using the Windows version.

The first thing that you need to understand about NSLOOKUP is that when you use the NSLOOKUP command, it assumes that you are querying a local domain on your private network. You can query an external domain, but NSLOOKUP will try to search for the domain internally first. For example, the brienposey.com domain is external to my network. If I perform an NSLOOKUP against brienposey.com, NSLOOKUP returns the information that’s shown in Figure A.


Figure A: This is what happens when NSLOOKUP queries an external domain

If you look at the figure, you will see that there are non existent domain error messages for the IP addresses 147.100.100.34 and 147.100.100.5. These are the addresses of my internal DNS servers. Below this information however is the non authoritative answer. This means that my DNS server queried an external DNS server in an effort to resolve the IP address associated with the brienposey.com domain.

Now, let’s take a look at what happens when you query an internal domain. One of the local domains on my private network is production.com. If I perform an NSLOOKUP against production.com, I get the results shown in Figure B.


Figure B: This is what it looks like when I query an internal domain

If you look at the top portion of this screen, you will notice that I’m getting the exact same non-existent domain error messages as I got when I queried an external domain. At first, this may seem puzzling. The reason why I got this error message was because I performed an NSLOOKUP outside of the NSLOOKUP shell. I will talk more about the NSLOOKUP shell in the next section. For now though, you need to know that you can enter the NSLOOKUP command by itself. When you do, you will see the familiar non-existent domain error messages, but you will then be taken to the NSLOOKUP prompt (the > sign). From there you can enter various NSLOOKUP commands. When you are done, you can use the EXIT command to return to the command prompt.

The other thing that you should notice about Figure B is the bottom portion of the output. Beneath the reference to production.com is a string of IP addresses. These are the IP addresses of all of the domain controllers within the domain. I should also point out that if multiple IP addresses are assigned to a single server then all of the server’s IP addresses will be displayed by NSLOOKUP.

The NSLOOKUP Shell

Now that I have shown you how to use the NSLOOKUP command to see the IP address or addresses associated with the domain, let’s do something a little bit more useful. One of the things that you can do with NSLOOKUP is to look up a specific type of DNS record. A good example of this is an MX record.

In case you aren’t yet familiar with all of the intricacies of DNS, the MX record points to the organization’s mail server. For example, suppose that someone wanted to send an E-mail message to you, one of the first things that their mail server would have to do is to resolve your domain’s IP address. However, a normal address resolution won’t usually work for this purpose. In Figure A, you saw that when I ran a DNS query against the brienposey.com domain, the domain resolved to the address 24.235.10.4. Keep in mind though, that this is the IP address of the server that hosts my Web site, not the address of my mail server. If someone wanted to send me an E-mail message their E-mail client would have to resolve the IP address of my domain’s mail server. This is where the MX record comes into play. The MX record is a record on a domain’s DNS server that specifies the IP address of the domain’s mail server.

As you can see, the MX record is rather important. Suppose however that your domain was having trouble receiving E-mail and you suspected that a DNS server issue was to blame. You could use NSLOOKUP to confirm that the domain does indeed have an MX record and that the MX record is pointed to the correct IP address.

Earlier I briefly mentioned that you could work within the NSLOOKUP shell. To troubleshoot an MX record problem, you pretty much have to work within this shell. Therefore, you would start the process by entering the NSLOOKUP command at the command prompt.

Once the NSLOOKUP shell is open, you will need to tell NSLOOKUP which DNS server you want to query. To do so, enter the SERVER command, followed by the DNS server’s IP address. You can also enter the server’s fully qualified domain name (assuming that it can be resolved) as an alternative to the server’s IP address.

Now that you have specified a DNS server for NSLOOKUP to use, you can query domains without receiving the non-existent domain error messages that you saw earlier (as long as you remain within the NSLOOKUP shell). To do so, you would simply type the domain name that you want to query. For example, if you look at Figure C, you can see where I have specified a particular DNS server and then queried an external and an internal domain.


Figure C: The error messages go away if you specify a DNS server

Now, let’s get back to the business of looking up a domain’s MX record. To do so, you need to issue a command that tells NSLOOKUP to query based on MX records. The command that you will have to use is:

SET QUERY=MX

Issuing this command by itself won’t give you any information about the domain’s MX record though. For that you have to actually query the domain by entering the domain name. If you look at Figure D, you will see that I have specified an MX query and then entered the production.com domain name. NSLOOKUP now returns a wealth of information pertaining to my domain’s MX record.


Figure D: When an MX query is specified, you can get a wealth of information about your domain’s MX record

Conclusion

As you can see, NSLOOKUP can provide you with a wealth of DNS server diagnostic information. However, NSLOOKUP is not limited to providing the types of information that I have discussed. The NSLOOKUP shell is actually a fairly rich interface with a rather large command set. You can view a list of the available commands and their syntax by entering a question mark at the NSLOOKUP prompt (note: you can not use NSLOOKUP /? to view the command set).

The NET command

The NET command

May 21, 2009

The NET command is used to manage requesters (networked computers), servers and network resources (network drives, printers, etcetera).
Most options of NET.EXE are also available in GUI style programs in Windows and OS/2, but for automating tasks nothing beats the command line interface of NET.EXE and its NT counterparts.

I "grew up" with OS/2 LAN Server's command line.
I automated many tasks using either batch files with NET.EXE or Rexx scripts with LAN Server RexxUtil.
After jumping on the NT train, it took me a while before I realized that I wasn't condemned to GUI style programs at all, as long as I had access to the Windows NT 4 and 2000 Server Resource Kit utilities.

Being an ex-OS/2 administrator, the first scripts I created for NT were (Regina) Rexx scripts, written for the Rexx version that comes with the Resource Kit.
After a while I switched to batch files combined with Resource Kit utilities.
To my surprise NT's batch language is almost as powerfull as a the Resource Kit's Rexx version.

One of the biggest problems when switching from LAN Server to NT is that many of NET.EXE's options have been moved to separate utilities in NT.
The following table and examples are meant as a cross reference: find the "original" LAN Manager/LAN Server command in the column on the left, and check the middle column to see what it translates to in NT.
Note that even when some NET commands remained the same, the options may still differ vastly.
Use NET HELP command to get online help.
In OS/2 you will get even more help on the available options using NET HELP command /O

Windows NT 4's help files contain, amongst others, a very helpful translation table too.
Look at the "Contents", "Windows NT Commands", "What's New or Different from LAN Manager?".

Note:
For NT I added several commands from the free PSTools toolkit.
These tools can be used on local as well as remote systems.
A must-have for Windows administrators.

LAN Server/LAN Manager and NT command translation
OS/2, LAN Server
LAN Manager
Windows NT Remarks
AT AT Schedule tasks
NET ACCESS CACLS Manage access.
Alternative (non-native) commands for NT: XCACLS, SHOWACLS, RMTSHARE, SUBINACL, SECEDIT.
NET ACCOUNTS NET ACCOUNTS
NET ADMIN RCMD (1)
PSEXEC
IMHO NET ADMIN was NT's worst omission.
On the other hand, RCMD (1) and PSEXEC may very well be the best replacements one could ever wish.
NET ADMIN /C \\server NET ACCESS local_path ... XCACLS (1) unc_path ...
PSEXEC \\server CACLS local_path ...
For files only, CACLS can be used on UNC based names as well.
NET ADMIN /C \\domaincontroller NET GROUP globalgroup ... NET GROUP globalgroup ... /DOMAIN
NET ADMIN /C \\server NET SHARE share ... RMTSHARE (1) \\server\share ...
PSEXEC \\server NET SHARE share ...

NET ADMIN /C \\domaincontroller NET USER user_id ... NET USER user_id ... /DOMAIN
NET ADMIN /C \\server NET FILE ... PSFILE \\server ...
NET ALIAS None (2)
NET APP None (2)
NET APPPARM None (2) OS/2 Warp 4.5 (eComStation) only
NET AUDIT None (2)
NET COMM None (2)
None (2) NET COMPUTER
NET CONFIG NET CONFIG Display NetBIOS configuration information
NET CONTINUE NET CONTINUE Continue paused services
NET COPY COPY
XCOPY
FCOPY (1)

NET DASD None (2)
NET DEVICE None (2)
NET ERROR DUMPEL (1)
PSLOGLIST

NET FILE NET FILE List files opened by remote computers
NET FORWARD None (2)
NET GROUP NET GROUP
NET LOCALGROUP
List or manage groups and group membership
NET HELP NET HELP
NET HELPMSG
Use NET HELP to display syntax.
Use NET HELPMSG to display information on error messages.
NET LOG None (2)
NET MOVE None (2)
NET NAME NET NAME List or manage NetBIOS names
NET PASSWORD NET USER user_id new_password [ /DOMAIN ] The command RUNDLL32.EXE NETPLWIZ.DLL,UsersRunDll will start the GUI for changing passwords (by Administrators only).
[ Thanks for Steve Pasikowski for pointing out an error in the previously published command ]
NET PAUSE NET PAUSE Pause services
NET PRINT NET PRINT
NET RIPLMACH None (2) OS/2 Warp 4.5 (eComStation) only
NET RIPLMCLAS None (2) OS/2 Warp 4.5 (eComStation) only
NET RUN RCMD (1)
PSEXEC

NET SEND NET SEND Send messages to other users or computers
NET SESSION NET SESSION
NET SHARE NET SHARE In Windows Server 2003 the default permissions on shares have changed from Everyone Full Control to Everyone Read! Use the /GRANT:Everyone,Full switch to set permissions to the old default.
NET START NET START Start services
NET STATISTICS NET STATISTICS
NET STATUS NET CONFIG and NET SHARE
NET STOP NET STOP Stop services
NET TIME NET TIME Synchronize time with a remote computer, or display a remote computer's current time
NET USE NET USE NT's /USER switch makes this command extremely powerfull
NET USER NET USER List or manage users
NET VIEW NET VIEW List domains and workgroups (NT's /DOMAIN switch only only), computers, or shared devices
NET WHO None (2) IMHO this is NT's secondmost important omission.
See NetWho and NetWho2 for an attempt to fill the gap.
For small NT networks PSLOGGEDON may be a viable alternative.

Notes: (1) This utility comes with the Windows NT Server Resource Kit

(2) There seems to be no command line equivalent available in NT.
However, for most tasks GUI style utilities are available in NT.
Linux / Unix finger command

Linux / Unix finger command

May 20, 2009
About finger

Lists information about the user.

Syntax

finger [-b] [-f] [-h] [-i] [-l] [-m] [-p] [-q] [-s] [-w] [username]

-b Suppress printing the user's home directory and shell in a long format printout.
-f Suppress printing the header that is normally printed in a non-long format printout.
-h Suppress printing of the .project file in a long format printout.
-i Force "idle" output format, which is similar to short format except that only the login name, terminal, login time, and idle time are printed.
-l Force long output format.
-m Match arguments only on user name (not first or last name).
-p Suppress printing of the .plan file in a long format printout.
-q Force quick output format, which is similar to short format except that only the login name, terminal, and login time are printed.
-s Force short output format.
-w Suppress printing the full name in a short format printout.

Examples

finger -b -p ch - Would display the following information about the user ch.

Login name: admin In real life: Computer Hope
On since Feb 11 23:37:16 on pts/7 from domain.computerhope.com
28 seconds Idle Time
Unread mail since Mon Feb 12 00:22:52 2001

Related commands

ac
passwd
who
whois

Microsoft DOS arp command

Microsoft DOS arp command

May 20, 2009
About arp

Displays, adds and removes arp information from network devices.

Short for Address Resolution Protocol, ARP is a protocol used with the IP protocol for mapping a 32-bit Internet Protocol address to a MAC address that is recognized in the local network specified in RFC 826. Once recognized, the server or networking device returns a response containing the required address.

  • Additional information about the MS-DOS ARP command can be found on our MS-DOS ARP command page.
  • See our Linux / Unix arp command page for additional information about this systems command.
Syntax ARP -s inet_addr eth_adr [if_addr]

ARP -d inet_addr [if_addr]
ARP -a [inet_addr] [-N if_addr]


-a Displays current ARP entries by interrogating the current protocol data. If inet_addr is specified, the IP and Physical addresses for only the specified computer are displayed. If more than one network interface uses ARP, entries for each ARP table are displayed.
-g Same as -a
inet_addr Specifies an Internet address.
-N if addr Displays the ARP entries for the network interface specified by if_addr.
-d Deletes the host specified by inet_addr.
-s Adds the host and associates the Internet address inet_addr with the Physical address eth_addr. The Physical address is given as 6 hexadecimal bytes seperated by hyphens. The entry is permanent.
eth_addr Specifies a physical address
if_addr If present, this specifies the Internet address of the interface whose address translation table should be modified. If not present, the first applicable interface will be used.

Examples

arp -a

Interface 220.0.0.80

Internet Address Physical Address Type
220.0.0.160 00-50-04-62-F7-23 static

The Physical Address or MAC address as shown above in the format aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff is the unique manufacturer identification number. This number should always be a unique address.

An example of how to change the above IP address 220.0.0.160 to 220.0.0.161 in this case would be:

arp -s 220.0.0.161 00-50-04-62-F7-23

If an IP address has already been assigned to the specific network adapter it is not possible to change that assigned IP address to a new address. In addition, networks italicizing DHCP, BOOTP or RARP will automatically assign the card an IP address, therefore, this command would not be utilized.

Root

Root

May 20, 2009

1. Also known as an admin, administrator, and gatekeeper this account is a super user on a computer and/or network and has complete control over it. When referring to a Unix / Linux computer this user is often known as root and on a Windows computer and network this user is often referred to as an administrator. However, each of these terms is interchangeable.

  • Information about determining if an account has administrator rights on document CH001093.
  • See document CH001096 for additional information about why you may not be able to log into the administrator account.
  • Additional information about giving a Windows account administrative rights on document CH001097.
  • See our su or super user command page for additional information on this Linux command.

2. The highest level in a directory hierarchy. For example, in MS-DOS, the root of the primary hard disk drive would C:\.

  • Additional information and help with MS-DOS can be found on our MS-DOS help page.
  • Users in the Microsoft recovery console can set the current directory to the system root directory by using the systemroot command.
Help with ping, winipcfg, and other network commands.

Help with ping, winipcfg, and other network commands.

May 20, 2009


Issue:


Help with ping, winipcfg, and other network commands.


Cause:


It may
be necessary to utilize utilities such as ping, winipcfg,
tracert, etc to help identify and fix network
related issues.


Solution:


Below is a
listing of the various network related commands used in MS-DOS, Windows,
Linux, Unix, and other operating systems. Each
command includes additional information to what the command does, the
command's syntax, and miscellaneous information.


Note: If you are not the root or admin of a computer, it is possible
for these commands to be disabled or revoked.


Arp

Finger

Hostname

Ipconfig

Pathping

Ping

Nbtstat

Net

Netstat

Nslookup

Route

Tracert / Traceroute

Whois

Winipcfg


ARP


Display or
manipulate the ARP information on a
network device or computer.



  • Additional information about the
    MS-DOS arp command
    can be found here.


FINGER


The finger
command available in Unix / Linux variants allows a user to find sometimes
personal information about a user. This information can include the last
time the user logged in, when they read their e-mail, etc... If the user
creates a .PLAN or other related file the user can also display additional
information.



  • Unix / Linux and variant finger command
    information can be found here.


HOSTNAME


The hostname
command displays the host name of the Windows XP computer currently logged
into.



  • Additional information about the
    MS-DOS hostname command can be found here.


IPCONFIG


Ipconfig is a MS-DOS utility that
can be used from MS-DOS and a MS-DOS shell to display the network settings
currently assigned and given by a network. This command can be utilized to
verify a network connection as well as to verify your network settings.


Windows 2000 users
should use this command to determine network information.



  • Additional information about ipconfig can be found here.


PATHPING


Pathping is a MS-DOS utility
available for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP users. This utility
enables a user to find network latency and network loss.



  • Additional information about
    the pathping command can be found here.


PING


Ping is one of the most
commonly used and known commands. Ping
allows a user to ping another network IP address. This can help determine
if the network is able to communicate with the network.



  • MS-DOS / Windows ping command and
    information can be found here.

  • Unix / Linux and variant ping command
    information can be found here.


NBTSTAT


The nbtstat MS-DOS utility that displays protocol
statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT.



  • MS-DOS / Windows nbtstat command and information can be found here.


NET


The net command
is available in MS-DOS / Windows and is used to set, view and determine
network settings.



  • MS-DOS / Windows net command and
    information can be found here.


NETSTAT


The netstat command is used to display the TCP/IP network
protocol statistics and information.



  • MS-DOS / Windows netstat command and information and be found here.

  • Unix / Linux netstat
    command and information and be found here.


NSLOOKUP


The nslookup MS-DOS utility that enables a user to do a reverse lookup on an IP address of a domain
or host on a network.



  • MS-DOS / Windows nslookup command and information can be found here.

  • Unix / Linux nslookup
    command and information and be found here.
    Linux users may also be interested in the host
    command that performs a similar task.


ROUTE


The route MS-DOS
utility enables computers to view and modify the computer's route table.



  • MS-DOS route command information
    can be found here.


TRACERT
/ TRACEROUTE


The tracert command in MS-DOS / Windows or the traceroute command in Unix / Linux and variants is
another commonly used network command to help determine network related
issues or slowdowns. Using this command you can view a listing of how a
network packet travels through the network and where it may fail or slow
down. Using this information you can determine the computer, router, switch
or other network device possibly causing your network issues.



  • MS-DOS / Windows tracert command and information can be found here.

  • Unix / Linux and variant traceroute command information can be found here.


WHOIS


The whois command available in Unix / Linux variants helps
allow a user to identify a domain name. This command provides information
about a domain name much like the WHOIS on network solutions. In some cases
the domain information will be provided from Network Solutions.



  • Unix / Linux and variant whois command information can be found here.


WINIPCFG


The winipcfg command available in Windows allows a user to
display network and network adapter information. Here, a user can find such
information as an IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, etc...



  • Windows winipcfg
    command and information can be found here.


NOTE: Windows
2000, Windows XP and above users do not have winipcfg.
Instead, use ipconfig.