What is 'Ping'?
Ping is a diagnostic tool used to determine if there is a problem with a connection between computers. Ping will send a packet of information to a specified address, for example 195.10.97.2, if the packet of information reaches the address given it will bounce back and give a read out similar to below;
Ping can be found in programs like Turnpike, and comes with Windows 95/98, however to
use Ping in Windows you will need to use a DOS window to initiate a ping command.
In Turnpike Ping repeats its 'ping' 5 times and then gives statistics with mean time in ms (milli-seconds).
If one of the repeat pings does not work then don't worry, if you receive a packet loss of more than 40% then there could well be a problem with the computer you are pinging or the connection to that particular computer.
If you have Windows95 or 98 you can use ping from the DOS prompt. Open a DOS window and type: ping -n 10 195.10.97.2 This will send 10 packets to the address specified.
Ping is a very useful diagnostic tool, and can be used if you believe that you have a connection problem. The addreses we would suggest you use are:
The ouput of a ping command is very useful when looking at connection problems and donwload speeds. Lots of dropped packets reduce your effective connection speed. With the information gained from ping, traceroute can be used to more effectivly pinpoint a problem.