🪟 Basic Network Commands in Windows

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The Windows Command Prompt (CMD) may seem intimidating, but it's the most powerful diagnostic tool you have. In this guide, we won't just tell you what to type, we'll show you exactly what you'll see on your screen and how to interpret it.

Command Index

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1. ipconfig: Who am I?

Displays your computer's IP configuration. This is the first command you should use to check if you're connected to your local network.

  • Command: ipconfig (or ipconfig /all for complete details)

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

Ethernet Adapter: Connection-Specific DNS Suffix: . Link-Local IPv6 Address: fe80::a1b2:c3d4:e5f6%12 IPv4 Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.15 <-- YOUR ADDRESS Subnet Mask: . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 <-- YOUR ROUTER

What to look for:
If you see something starting with 169.254... under IPv4 Address, your computer is unable to obtain an IP address from the router (DHCP issue). If you see a blank Default Gateway, you won't be able to browse the Internet.

2. ping: Reachability Test

Checks whether another computer or website is reachable and how long it takes to respond.

  • Command: ping google.com

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

Ping google.com [142.250.184.46] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 142.250.184.46: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=116 Reply from 142.250.184.46: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=116 Reply from 142.250.184.46: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=116 Reply from 142.250.184.46: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=116 Ping Statistics for 142.250.184.46: Packets: Transmitted = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

What to look for:
Reply from indicates success. If you see Request timed out, the server is not responding or there is a block. duration=xxms indicates the speed (under 50ms is excellent, above 150ms you will experience slowdowns).

3. tracert: The data path

Shows all the "hops" (routers) your signal goes through to reach its destination. Useful for understanding where the connection is blocked.

  • Command: tracert google.com

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated output):

Trace route to google.com [142.250.184.46] on up to 30 hops: 1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.1 <-- YOUR HOME ROUTER 2 8 ms 7 ms 9 ms 10.0.0.1 <-- THE PROVIDER'S CENTRAL UNIT 3 15 ms 14 ms 15 ms 172.16.25.33 <-- INTERMEDIATE NODE 4 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 142.250.184.46 <-- DESTINATION (GOOGLE) Trace complete.

What to look for:
If the trace stops at point 1, the problem is at your site. If it stops at point 2 or 3 and you see asterisks * * * Request timed out, the problem is likely with your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

4. nslookup: DNS Name Test

Checks if your computer can translate a name (e.g., "repubblica.it") into its numeric address.

  • Command: nslookup google.com

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated output):

Server: dns.google <-- THE DNS SERVER YOU ARE USING Address: 8.8.8.8 Response from an untrusted server: Name: google.com Addresses: 2a00:1450:4002:403::200e 142.250.180.206 <-- THE SITE'S IP ADDRESS FOUND

What to look for:
If you receive a message like DNS request timed out or Non-existent domain, you have a DNS problem. The site exists, but your computer can't find its number.

5. netstat: Active Connections

Shows who's talking to your PC.

  • Command: netstat -an (show numbers and ports)

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

Proto Local Address External Address Status TCP 192.168.1.15:54321 104.21.55.2:443 ESTABLISHED TCP 192.168.1.15:54322 52.123.45.67:80 TIME_WAIT TCP 0.0.0.0:135 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING

What to look for:
ESTABLISHED: Active connection (you are exchanging data).
LISTENING: An open port on your PC listening for connections (potential risk if you don't know what it is).
443/80: These are the web ports (HTTPS/HTTP).

6. arp: Neighbor Table

Displays the map between IP Addresses and Physical Addresses (MAC Addresses) on your local network.

  • Command: arp -a

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

Interface: 192.168.1.15 --- 0x3 Internet Address Physical Address Type 192.168.1.1 a0-b1-c2-d3-e4-f5 dynamic <-- ROUTER 192.168.1.55 00-11-22-33-44-55 dynamic <-- WIFI PRINTER 192.168.1.255 ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff static

What to look for:
Useful for finding out if there's an "intruder" device on your Wi-Fi network by checking if you recognize the IP addresses listed.

7. netsh: Wi-Fi Profile Management

Among Netsh's many functions, the most useful for the average user is viewing saved Wi-Fi profiles.

  • Command: netsh wlan show profiles

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

Profiles in the Wi-Fi interface: Group Policy Profiles (Read-only) --------------------------------- <Nessuno> User Profiles --------------------------------- All user profiles: Vodafone-A1B2 All user profiles: WiFi-Hotel-Mare All user profiles: Marco's iPhone

What to look for:
This is a list of networks you've connected to in the past. You can use this name to recover your password with the command: netsh wlan show profile name="Vodafone-A1B2" key=clear.

8. route: Routing Table

Shows how the PC decides where to send packets.

  • Command: route print

What you'll see on the screen (Simulated Output):

IPv4 Route Table =========================================================================================== Network Destination Mask Gateway Interface Metric 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.15 25 127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 On-link 127.0.0.1 331 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 On-link 192.168.1.15 281 ===================================================================================

What to look for:
The most important line is the first one (0.0.0.0). It says "anything I don't know, I send to Gateway 192.168.1.1" (your router). If this line is missing, you won't be able to access the Internet.

9. telnet: Test TCP Ports

Checks whether a specific "port" on a remote server is open.
Note: If the command is not recognized, it must be activated from "Control Panel -> Programs -> Turn on Windows Features".

  • Command: telnet google.com 80

What you'll see on the screen:

SCENARIO A (Success):
The terminal goes all black or the cursor blinks in the top left without errors. This means the port is open and the server has accepted the connection.

SCENARIO B (Failure):

Connecting to google.com...Unable to open a connection to the host. on port 80: Connection failed

What to look for:
If you get "Connection failed," it's likely that a firewall (yours or the server's) is blocking that specific port.



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