3. Nblookup
Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) is a NetBIOS name resolution protocol. WINS performs a function for NetBIOS
names similar to the function that DNS performs for host names. For
many years, WINS name resolution was the most common way for computers
running Windows to identify each other on networks.
However, in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain
environments, DNS is used by default, and WINS is primarily used to
support older clients and applications.
For environments that still
rely on WINS servers, Nblookup is a valuable tool for diagnosing WINS
name resolution problems. Nblookup is not included with Windows but is
available as a free download from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830578.
After saving Nblookup.exe to a computer, you can double-click the file
to run it in interactive mode within a command prompt. Alternatively,
command-line mode allows you to run it from any command prompt. The
following examples demonstrate the use of command-line mode.
To look up a NetBIOS name using the computer's configured WINS server, run the following command.
nblookup computer_name
To look up a NetBIOS name using a specific WINS server, add the /s server_ip parameter, as the following example demonstrates.
nblookup /s server_ip computer_name
For example, to look up the name COMPUTER1 using the WINS server located at 192.168.1.222, you would run the following command.
nblookup /s 192.168.1.222 COMPUTER1
NetBIOS names actually identify services, not computers. If you want to attempt to resolve a NetBIOS name for a specific service, use the /x
parameter and specify the service's NetBIOS suffix. For example, the
following command would look up domain controllers (which use a NetBIOS
suffix of 1C) in a domain named DOMAIN.
nblookup /x 1C DOMAIN
4. Nbtstat
Nbtstat (Nbtstat.exe)
is a command-line tool for troubleshooting NetBIOS name resolution
problems. NetBIOS is a session-layer protocol that formed the foundation
of Microsoft network applications for several years. NetBIOS
applications identify services on the network by using 16-character
NetBIOS names. Each computer on a network might have several different
NetBIOS names to identify NetBIOS services on that system.
Today, NetBIOS is implemented on TCP/IP networks by using NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT).
NetBT includes its own form of name resolution to resolve NetBIOS names
to IP addresses. Names might be resolved by broadcast queries to the
local network segment or by queries to a WINS server.
Unfortunately, NetBIOS name
resolution is a common source of problems. You can use Nbtstat to reveal
the NetBIOS names available on the local computer or remote computers.
In troubleshooting scenarios, this helps you to verify that a NetBIOS
service is available and its name is being correctly resolved.
To view the NetBIOS name cache, open a command prompt and run the following command.
nbtstat -c
This command produces output similar to the following.
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.132] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Remote Cache Name Table
Name Type Host Address Life [sec]
------------------------------------------------------------
WIN71 <00> UNIQUE 192.168.1.196 602
WIN72 <00> UNIQUE 192.168.1.200 585
To view the local NetBIOS service names, open a command prompt and run the following command.
nbtstat -n
This command produces output similar to the following.
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.132] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Local Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
WIN71 <00> UNIQUE Registered
HQ <00> GROUP Registered
HQ <1E> GROUP Registered
HQ <1D> UNIQUE Registered
.._MSBROWSE_.<01> GROUP Registered
To view the NetBIOS names on a remote system by using the computer name, open a command prompt and run the following command.
nbtstat -a computername
For example:
nbtstat -a win71
This command produces output similar to the following.
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.132] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
WIN71 <00> UNIQUE Registered
WIN71 <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered
MAC Address = 00-15-C5-08-82-F3
Notice that the output is similar to the output when running nbtstat –n
locally. However, this output also displays the remote computer's MAC
address. To view the NetBIOS names on a remote system by using the IP
address, open a command prompt and run the following command.
nbtstat -A IP_Address
Windows 7 (and all recent versions of Windows) prefers to use DNS host names instead of NetBIOS names. Therefore, if you have an AD DS domain with a DNS server configured, you will rarely need to troubleshoot NetBIOS
names. However, Windows might still use NetBIOS names to communicate
with computers on the local network and will use NetBIOS names if a host
name cannot be resolved with DNS and you have configured a WINS server.
5. Net
Net (Net.exe) is a
command-line tool that is useful for changing network configuration
settings, starting and stopping services, and viewing shared resources.
Although other tools provide friendlier interfaces for much of the
functionality provided by Net, Net is very useful for quickly
determining the available shared resources on local or remote computers.
When you are troubleshooting connections to resources, this tool is
useful for verifying that shared resources are available and for
verifying the names of those shared resources.
5.1. How to View Shared Folders on the Local Computer
Use the net share
command to view shared resources located on the local computer. If the
Server service is started, Net will return a list of shared resources
names and locations. To view shared resources, open a command prompt and
run the following command.
net share
This command produces output similar to the following.
Share name Resource Remark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C$ C:\ Default share
D$ D:\ Default share
E$ E:\ Default share
print$ C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers
Printer Drivers
IPC$ Remote IPC
ADMIN$ C:\Windows Remote Admin
MyShare C:\PortQryUI
HP DeskJet 930C932C935C
LPT1: Spooled HP DeskJet 930C/932C/935C
The command completed successfully.
5.2. How to View Shared Folders on Another Computer
Use the net view
command to view shared resources located on another computer. To view
shared folders on another computer, open a command prompt and run the
following command.
net view computer
For example:
net view d820
This command produces output similar to the following.
Shared resources at d820
Share name Type Used as Comment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Progress Disk
Printer Print Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
publish Disk
SharedDocs Disk
Software Disk
The command completed successfully.
You can identify Computer
by using the computer name, host name, or IP address. If you receive an
"Access is denied" error message when attempting to view shares on a
remote computer, establish a NetBIOS connection to the remote computer.
For example, you could use Net use to establish a connection and then use Net view, as the following example demonstrates.
net use \\win7 /user:username
net view \\win7
