How to Check a Ping From a Computer

Ping command in DOS window

To "ping" a computer or to ping an IP address simply means to query that IP address to see if there is a response. If a response returns via the ping, the IP address on the pinged computer is live. A user may employ the ping function when troubleshooting a website, email application or network connection. For example, a webmaster may publish a new website on a certain IP address. He checks the IP address in a browser but receives a "404" error--a "page not found" error. The first thing the webmaster may do is to ping the IP address to see if it is receiving web traffic. If the ping comes back with a response, then he knows the IP address is OK and the problem most likely is due to issues in the page code or on the web server.

Things You'll Need

• IP address/computer to ping

Instructions

1. Open a DOS window. To do this in XP and Windows Server (2000, 2003), click "Start," then click "Run..." A dialog box will appear over the Start button. In Vista, click "Start." A search box will appear over the Start button.

2. Type "cmd" in the Run dialog box in XP and Windows Server. In Vista, type the "cmd" command into the search box.

3. Look for the DOS window to appear. At the "C" prompt in the DOS window, type the command "ping" along with the IP address or URL to query. Example: "ping 70.168.0.1" will invoke a response from this IP address.

4. Look for ping results to appear in the DOS window directly below the ping command. If the IP address "answers" the ping, repeating lines indicate that a reply from the IP address has been received or no response was given from the address.

5. Review the repeating responses. If the ping receives a reply from the IP address, several repeating lines will read: Reply from (IP address)--along with other data.
   If the ping does not receive a reply from the IP address, several repeating lines will read: Request timed out.

Tips & Warnings

• Even though the ping command may be directly entered into the Vista Search box and run, the window will close immediately after the command has finished. If you just need to quickly check an IP address result, this may be OK. However, if you need to study or write down the IP address result, use the "cmd" command. The DOS window will remain open until you close it.

• A server may be configured to disallow ping responses. In this case, the ping command will return no data.

References

• Computer Hope
• Vista X64