How to Ping a Website in CMD

"Ping" your website to check for connectivity.

A ping is a command used to test an Internet connection. Packets of information are sent out from your computer to a certain website or server and the website receives them and sends them back to your computer. A ping is a very easy command to run and is an excellent way to troubleshoot Internet connection problems your computer may be experiencing.

Instructions

1. Open the computer's command prompt. Open the "Start" menu, click on "All Programs," then click on "Accessories" and finally click on "Command Prompt." If you see a black box with a blinking cursor, you have successfully opened the command prompt.

2. Run the ping command. Type "ping," then a single space and then the name of any website or IP address. It is not necessary to include "http://" at the beginning of the address, but you should include the "www" portion of the address. A good ping command should read as follows:

   "ping www.example.com"

   Check for any typing errors and press the "Enter" key.

3. Evaluate the ping. If it is unable to ping the server, the output will read "ping request could not find host." If the command pings the server successfully, the output will look like this:

   Pinging www.l.example.com [12.34.567.890] with 32 bytes of data:

   Reply from 12.34.567.890: bytes=32 time=41ms TTL=54
   Reply from 12.34.567.890: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=54
   Reply from 12.34.567.890: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=54
   Reply from 12.34.567.890: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=54

   Ping statistics for 12.34.567.890:
   Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
   Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
   Minimum = 39ms, Maximum = 41ms, Average = 39ms

   The key part of the output is the "ping statistics" section at the bottom. A standard Windows ping command sends out four packets of information. The statistics tell you how many of the packets were received by the server or site you are pinging, and the percentage of packet loss the command registered.

   Ideally, for a healthy Internet connection, you want to see four packets sent, four packets received, and 0% packet loss. In most cases, this will indicate that your computer's Internet connection is working fine. Any packet loss could be an indication of a connection problem.

Tips & Warnings

• The technical support team of your Internet service provider (ISP) will usually be trained on how to run ping commands. If you have any questions, it is better to contact a support representative and have him walk you through the ping process rather than risk possible damage to your computer or Internet connection.

• Take special care not to misspell or mistype any part of the ping command. The "ping request could not find host" output is usually an indication that the computer's Internet connection is not working properly, but it could also be that the computer is trying to ping a server that does not exist. For instance, if you type "wwww.example.com" instead of "www.example.com," the ping request will not find the host simply because "wwww.example.com" is not a valid website URL.

References

• Computer Hope: Microsoft DOS ping command