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Pinging for Web Sites

Use Windows' Ping tool to troubleshoot your Internet connection.

By Lenny Bailes, PCWorld   

The Ping utility bundled with Windows 95 and 98 is a versatile diagnostic tool that can help you determine whether your Internet connection is working properly. To use it, start up the MS-DOS Prompt (click Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt). Enter ping followed by a hostname, which can be the name of a computer on your local network, the name of an Internet domain (Netscape.com, for example), or a numerical IP address (PC World.com's address is 209.1.23.30).

When your network connection to a specific computer or domain is working properly, Ping responds with a status report which includes the IP address of the "pinged" destination, the time (in milliseconds) it took to reach the destination, and other network information. Try pinging large Web sites like CNN.com, Yahoo.com, or PC World.com to see how long it takes information to travel from the site.

A computer using a typical 56-kbps modem connection might take 300 ms or longer to reach some sites. According to Microsoft, if Ping shows a response time of more than five seconds (5000 ms), your slow Internet connection might be the fault of a problem with your Internet service provider, and you should contact your ISP.

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