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How to do a trace route

 

Traces : What they are and how to carry them out

Basically a trace is like a map from your modem right through to the web site, news group, etc.

It defines each step that your connection takes to get from you to the address. Think of it like giving someone directions to get their house to yours, giving them the best route to get there. That is what a trace does, It finds the best route to a web address or news/mail address.

As we all know things can go wrong sometimes when trying to reach a certain address. What causes this?

I’ll explain this is simple non technical jargon. In the older days when phones where more or less new technology and when you wanted to phone someone you had to go through an operator, who then perhaps passed you on to another operator and so on until you reached the person you wanted? Well, imagine what would happen if one of those operators wasn’t available. You would get passed to that exchange and then…. Nothing. You wouldn’t be able to get any further than that with your call. This is basically what happens when you can’t reach an address. As for why this happens, most non-technical people don’t want or need this information for posting and support will usually fill you in on what is causing it once they have looked into the problem.

 

How to do Traces

How do we do traces? In my experience, many people seem to have problems with doing traces, not even knowing where to start. This is a basic (and I hope, easy to understand) break down of how to carry out a trace.

  1. Firstly, open up your MS-DOS box

    2. (usually by going into Start -> run -> type "command" -> click OK).

  2. Once in the DOS environment, type "tracert" at the DOS prompt. Tracert

    3. basically stands for trace route, which is what you are about to do.

  3. Now you have tracert in the DOS box. DON’T hit enter. After this type the

    4. address of the web you are having problems with, e.g. www.eircom.net The line should now read tracer www.eircom.net

    Now hit enter.

  4. The screen should start to scroll up with information looking something like

this:

 

This is the information a Technical Support Person will look for. Once the DOS prompt has come back, the trace is finished. To copy it over into a post:

  1. At the top of the DOS box, you should see a row of icons. Click the one that looks like a box with

    2. dashed lines.

  2. Use your mouse to outline the whole trace (include the tracing route to… information). This whole

    3. area should now appear a different colour (usually white).

  3. Back at the top of the DOS box again. In the row of icons, you should see one that looks like two

    4. pieces of paper with their corners folded over and overlapping. Scroll your mouse over this and it should come up saying copy. Click this.

  4. Go to your post and right click where you want to put the information. Select paste from the menu

    5. list.

  5. You have now completed you first trace to support! Congratulations!

The trace can be done for several of the sites you are having problems with and copied and pasted accordingly. Once this is all done, send your post.

A Point to note, if the "ms" figures you have from the trace are high or some have * at them or the response timed out, you know you have a legitimate problem.

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