Network troubleshooting commands for Windows

The Windows troubleshooting commands discussed in this document fall into three categories:

• Determine which groups a user belongs
• Helpful commands entered from the Start > Run dialog box
• Comman-line tools for troubleshooting network connectivity

Determine which groups a user belongs

To generate a list of groups that a user belongs, open a command prompt and enter the following commands:

   net user <username> /domain

Replace <username> with an actual user name. For example:

   net user jdoe /domain

Helpful commands entered from the Start > Run dialog box

Select Start > Run to execute any of the following commands.

mstsc	Opens the Remote Desktop (RDP) tool
winmsd	Opens the System Information dialog box
inetcpl.cpil	Opens the Internet Explorer Properties dialog box
odbccp32.cpl	Opens the ODBC Data Source Administrator
mmc	Opens the Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
services.msc	Opens the Windows Services dialog box
eventvwr.msc	Opens the Windows Event Viewer
dsa.msc	Opens the Active Directory User and Computers management console
dssite.msc	Opens the Active Directory Sites and Services management console
adminpak.msi	Launches the Administration Tools Pack installer
dxdiag	Opens the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
\\< Name or IP>\C$	Opens a UNC to the C: share
cmd	Opens the Windows Command Prompt using the 32-bit cmd shell

 

Command-line tools for troubleshooting network connectivity

This list contains some common commands for troubleshooting network connectivity. Select Start > Runand then type cmd to access the appropriate command prompt. Activating a command window viaStart > Programs > Accessories does not allow all of the following tools to run correctly. 

arp -a	Shows gateway MAC address.
gpresult	Starts the Operating System Group Policy Result tool
ipconfig /all	Displays the full TCP/IP configuration for all adapters
ipconfig /flushdns	Flushes the DNS resolver cache. Helpful when troubleshooting DNS name resolution problems
nbtstat -a <MachineName>	Obtains info from WINS or LMHOST (discovers who is logged on)
nbtstst -A <IP>	Gets info from WINS or LMHOST (discovers who is logged on)
nbtstat -R	Purges and reloads the remote cache name table
nbtstat -n	Lists local NetBIOS names.
nbtstat -r	Useful for detecting errors when browsing WINS or NetBIOS
netstat -ab	The b switch links each used port with its application
netstat -an	Shows open ports
netstat -an 1 | find "15868"	Locates only lines with the number 15868 and redisplays every one second
netstat -an | find "LISTENING"	Shows open ports with LISTENING status
net use	Retrieves a list of network connections
net use file://1.2.3.4/	Sees if the machine can poll IP 1.2.3.4
net user	Shows user account for the computer
net user /domain	Displays user accounts for the domain
net user /domain <UserName>	Shows account details for specific user
net group /domain	Shows group accounts for the domain
net view	Displays domains in the network
net view /domain	Specifies computers available in a specific domain
net view /domain: <DomainName> | more	Shows user accounts from specific domain
net view /cache	Shows workstation names
nslookup	Looks up IP/hostnames and displays information helpful in diagnosing DNS issues
ping -a <IP>	Resolves IP to Hostname
ping -t <IP>	Pings host until stopped
set U	Shows which user is logged on
set L	Shows the logon server
telnet <IP> <port>	Confirms whether the port is open

net use %LOGONSERVER%                      

• Use this command to hit the Domain Controller resulting in DC Agent picking up the user name you logged onto the server with. An example of the command follows:
  • net use  \\<Domain Controller IP or Hostname>