XP, Tracerpt?

[Jeeper]

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...nol/winxppro/proddocs/nt_command_tracerpt.asp

what is the proper use of this tracer function in windows XP pro?

 

[Ecniv]

Ive been searching all over but it doesnt seem that anyone has anything other than microshafts generic "defenition" of the command. I will look around some more, but really what we are looking for isnt proper usage, but what pertinent information can be gained from doing this, and of what use is it to us.

 

[Shroud]

tracerpt simply parses through log files that XP creates and can generate report files that are easier to read.

 

[Jeeper]

tracerpt simply parses through log files that XP creates and can generate report files that are easier to read.

ok, then will it tell you if a NIC card is bad or not. that is really what i want to know.

 

[Ecniv]

lol, you just gave us the generic answer we have been finding everywhere. we are trying to find out logical uses for the command in everyday troubleshooting.

 

[Shroud]

No.. it only parses through XP generated log files, and I do not think that parsing through your event viewer log file will help you any more than simply looking at it.

If you want to know if your NIC works or not then you should take a look at your device manager and make sure the newest drivers for XP are installed.. if not then you should install them..

Then you should try to ping localhost or 127.0.0.1 which are loopbacks. This will tell you if your NIC will respond. If that does not work then your NIC is probably bad.

If that works then you should assign your NIC an IP and subnet mask and try pinging that to test the NICs ability to bind to an IP addy. If that does not work then your NIC could be bad.

If all that works then it is not likely that you have a bad NIC but that the problem maybe a IP scheme issue or bad cabling or a bad port on your router or switch or god forbid hub.

 

[Ecniv]

Yea, we are a bit more advanced than that bud. We work at a cable ISP, and recently heard about this command. You must understand that just the ability to ping localhost does not immediatly mean a functional NIC. Nor does having the drivers installed properly.

Sometimes there are grey areas where packet loss, high ping times, or intermittent connection loss are concerned that require a bit more detailed information to troubleshoot effectively. We are hoping that "tracerpt" may be able to help us with that.

Regardless, I have posted to the Microsoft newsgroups and will post here if I get any reply.

Thanks for tryin Shroud, but believe me, we arent beginners.

 

[Shroud]

Why not switch out the NIC?

 

[Ecniv]

Because that isnt the best solution! It costs our company, (and sometimes our customers) around $50 for us sending a technition out to do that. Our job as phone tech support, is to try to solve the issue without costing the company or the customer more time or money than absolutly neccessary.

Therefore, if we can rule out (or in, for that matter) a bad NIC over the phone, by getting specific info from this command, that would help us troubleshoot more effectively, and avoid replacing NIC's that dont need to be replaced.

 

[Shroud]

Ah.. I C.. I do not work at such a large company.. so all of our stuff is pretty much on site or on campus. Well.. that sucks.. let me know what happens.