im CERTAIN that i used to be able to go to Start, Run, Command Prompt and type in "Ping www.yahoo.com" and the system would send a ping out to check the path to and back from that URL...

when i type in "Ping.....(anything)" now, i get "PING is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."

i get the same when i try IPCONFIG

did i screw something up somehow or was i dreaming about being able to do this?

thanks

If you can do a chkdsk /r (or repair of you windows as its called)

that is bootup with the XP installation cd and choose repair it will send you to the console and there you type chkdsk /r , windows will the check every file and see if something is corroped and replace it with the standard version.

Doing a windows update after this can be a smart move too.

This shouldent take to long.


Ping www.whatever.com will ping the url yes if you want a more accurent trace of the packet then do a tracert www.whatever.com and you get a roadmap :D

Either the Path statement in your system is no longer pointing to the folder where these files are stored, those files aren't where they're supposed to be, or something's messed up in Windows when trying to access them.

To check you Path statement, go to Start...Run...and type in "sysdm.cpl" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
Click on the Advanced tab, then on the Environment Variables button.
Double click on the PATH variable (NOT the ClassPath) and read what's there. It should include the System32 sub-directory.

If that's OK, then search your system for ping.exe and ipconfig.exe Use the advanced options to search hidden and system locations.

Beyond that we'd have to start checking for malware and the integrity of the system files.

cant do any repair disk stuff because i never got an original xp disk and then a buddy did a complete re-install a few years ago and we used his disk...

i checked my path and both files included some system32 files...

when i searched the computer (using all of the hidden files and such) i got 2 or 3 entries for them. they were in the 32 subfiles and the service pack subfiles. when i tried to open them, they would flash the command prompt window for MAYBE 1/2 second and then close it...

i dont know if that means anything or not but i guess its probably really not necessary for these to run correctly because i can do the same procedures with my laptop...

i guess maybe im due for deep cleaning...

Try going to Start...Run...and type in "cmd.exe" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
In the black window that pops up, type:

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING WWW.YAHOO.COM

Press Enter after each command.

Then close that window, and got to Start...Run...and type in "command.exe" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
In the black window that pops up, type:

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING WWW.YAHOO.COM

Press Enter after each command.

Let us know the results for each.

okay...

using cmd.exe i get the usual black box i can "run" the IPCONFIG and the IPCONFIG /ALL and i get the usual info. "running" PING WWW.YAHOO.COM gets me the normal pinging function. this seems to work fine...


using command.exe i get the Windows critical stop 'boink' and the popup that says "Windows cannot find 'command.exe'. Please make sure you typed it correctly blah blah blah..."

was i just making a mistake by using "COMMAND PROMPT" instead of "CMD.EXE"? i thought for sure i was supposed to use the command prompt line...

thanks

FWIW: http://www.terryscomputertips.com/computer...d-dos-shell.php

Louis