Windows: Collecting network diagnostic information

If you are experiencing persistent issues connecting to the campus Internet network, a technician may ask you to collect the diagnostic information.

Collecting Networking Packets for Diagnosis

Sometimes Chrome's DevTools can capture what you need to capture.

For more thorough capturing, use Wireshark:

1. Download and install Wireshark (Carleton Windows computers are 64-bit)
   • NOTE: you do NOT want to limit the capture to only administrators on the computer
2. Set up Wireshark to collect WiFi diagnostics by going into the Edit menu > Preferences > Capture and setting the Default Interface to WiFi (you may have to select whether you're on 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz WiFi)
3. As you're experiencing the network connectivity error, open Wireshark and click the blue fin icon at the top left to begin capturing data
4. Keep capturing data until the problem resolves or you're sure you've captured a few minutes of the problem (bear in mind that the file size gets larger and larger, so you may want to limit capture as much as possible)
5. Click the red box icon to stop collecting data
6. Click the document icon to save this capture
7. Name and save the file
8. Email the file to the ITS technician (the Helpdesk ticketing application may not accept the log file as an attachment)

Collecting Ping, Trace, and Internet Configuration Data

1. In your Windows menu, search for and open Command Prompt
2. Type in the following and press enter:
   ping www.google.com
3. wait for a line or two to come up saying that some bytes have moved,
4. Press Control + C to stop the pinging
5. Now type in the following and press enter:
   ping 8.8.8.8
6. Wait for a line or two to come up saying that some bytes have moved
7. Press Control + C to stop the pinging
8. Now type in the following and press enter:
   tracert 8.8.8.8
9. And finally, type in the following and press enter:
   ipconfig /all
10. In a message to the ITS technician, include the following:
    • Your physical location while collecting this information
    • The date and time
    • The information your Command Prompt application produced (just copy and paste everything in the Command Prompt window)