Unable to Ping

(Im not sure if this should be under Internet/networking category but here goes.)

I cant seem to ping anything under the command prompt (windows xp pro). I get the error message

'ping' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Click to expand...

I dont have ping.exe under my \system32 folder. I tried to do a search for it off google, but all I get is shareware/freeware pinging programs which I do not want.

It's possible %systemroot%\System32 isn't listed in your PATH (incomplete command PATH)...open System Properties | "Advanced" tab | "Environment Variables" button | Edit the PATH variable (under "System Variables"), it should be similar to:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;

You can also do this...Start | Run | Type cmd and click OK | At the command prompt, type SET | The SET command will give you all the variables including the PATH. BTW, are you running CMD.EXE when you refer to entering the PING command from the "command prompt", or are you trying to run COMMAND.COM?

Thanks a lot, I didn't even have the PATH variable under "enviroment variables". It works like a charm now.