I am working in an IT office where I have to do remote file transfers and software upgrades over the network. So before I start working on a computer, I ping the computer name (e.g., AB395729) in command prompt.
When it works, I get a response like this:
Reply from <ip address>: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=127
And some ping statistics when it's done.
When a computer is not turned on or somehow not properly connected to the network, I get a response like this:
Request timed out.
However, sometimes I instead get a response like this:
Ping request could not find host AB395728. Please check the name and try again.
I'm not as knowledgeable in the networking side of things, so I'm not sure how to proceed with this. This is definitely the name of the computer. Is that type of response happening because the computer has not been connected to our network in a long time?
I'd love to know more about how to interpret these responses (and what I might do to get past this). Thanks!
Best Answer
In order to "ping" a remote computer, your computer must first resolve the name "AB3955728" to an IP address. In most systems, that is the function of DNS (Domain Name Service). Think of it like a telephone directory, where you look up a number, based on a name.
In your case, it appears that there is no DNS entry for the target computer "AB3955728". So the Ping program can't resolve the name to an address. That is what the error message is trying to tell you.
As to why there's no entry for this computer, you will have to ask the system administrators. Without knowing more about your network, we'd just be guessing.