Windows Network and System Commands

What it is

Many support tasks start with a command that shows the network state or changes a system setting. These commands run in the Windows Command Prompt, and some need an elevated prompt (Run as administrator). Know what each one reports, because exam questions give a symptom and ask which command to use.

How it works

Network testing commands

ping 192.168.1.1
ping -t 192.168.1.1
ping -n 10 example.com
tracert example.com
pathping example.com
nslookup example.com
nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8
netstat -ano

The -t switch makes ping continue until stopped with Ctrl+C. The -n switch sets how many requests are sent. In nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8, the last value is the DNS server to ask, which helps separate a local DNS fault from a wider one.

In netstat -ano, -a shows all connections and listening ports, -n shows numbers rather than names, and -o adds the process ID (PID) that owns each connection. You can match that PID in Task Manager to find the program involved.

A useful test order is to ping the loopback address 127.0.0.1 (tests the network software on the machine), then the default gateway, then a remote address, then a name. If the address works but the name fails, the fault is DNS.

User and share commands

net user
net user jsmith /add
net user jsmith /delete
net use Z: \\server\share
net use Z: /delete

net user lists local accounts, and the /add and /delete switches create and remove one. Running net user jsmith with no switch shows details about that account.

The net use command maps a network share to a drive letter, and /delete removes the mapping. These commands change the system and need appropriate rights.

whoami
whoami /groups
whoami /priv

The whoami command prints the current account as domain\user. The /groups switch lists the groups the account belongs to, including its integrity level, which is High in an elevated prompt. The /priv switch lists the privileges the account holds.

Use it to check which account a prompt or script is running as and whether it is elevated.

Group Policy commands

Use gpupdate after an administrator changes a policy and you do not want to wait for the normal refresh. Use gpresult to learn which policies actually applied.

System commands

shutdown /s /t 0
shutdown /r /t 60
shutdown /a
winver

The shutdown command uses /s to shut down, /r to restart, /l to sign out, /t to set a delay in seconds and /a to abort a pending shutdown. The winver command opens a small window with the Windows version and build number. It is a quick way to check what a computer runs.