How to Run a Traceroute in Windows

Traceroute is a network diagnostic tool that allows you to track the route taken by data packets between your computer and a destination server.

It can help identify:

• Network connectivity issues
• High latency between network nodes
• Routing problems at your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Communication problems between your computer and a website or server

If you’re experiencing connection issues with a website, traceroute can help determine where the interruption or slowdown is occurring.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt

In Windows:

1. Click the Start button or the search icon.
2. Type:

cmd

3. Open Command Prompt from the search results.

A black command-line window will appear.

Step 2: Run the Traceroute Command

In the Command Prompt window, enter:

tracert yourdomain.com

Replace:

yourdomain.com

with the domain name you want to test.

For example:

tracert mybox.com

Note: In Windows, the traceroute command is called tracert.

Step 3: Review the Results

After a few moments, Windows will display a list of network hops between your computer and the destination server.

Example:

Tracing route to mybox.com

  1    1 ms    1 ms    1 ms  router.local
  2   10 ms   11 ms   10 ms  isp-gateway.net
  3   18 ms   20 ms   19 ms  network-node.net
  ...

Each line represents a device (hop) that the traffic passes through on its way to the destination.

The displayed times indicate the response latency for each hop.

Saving the Results

If you need to provide the traceroute results to the mybox support team, you can:

Option 1: Take a Screenshot

Capture the Command Prompt window and attach the image to your support request.

Option 2: Save the Output to a File

Run:

tracert yourdomain.com > traceroute.txt

This will save the results to a file named:

traceroute.txt

in your current directory.

Common Issues

Request Timed Out

You may see entries similar to:

* * * Request timed out.

This does not always indicate a problem.

Some routers are configured not to respond to traceroute requests while still forwarding traffic normally.

Destination Not Reached

If the traceroute stops before reaching the destination server, there may be:

• A routing problem
• A network outage
• A firewall restriction
• An ISP-related issue

In such cases, provide the traceroute results when contacting support.

Summary

To perform a traceroute in Windows:

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Run:

tracert yourdomain.com

3. Wait for the results to complete.
4. Save the output or take a screenshot if requested by support.

Traceroute is a useful diagnostic tool that helps identify where network connectivity issues occur between your computer and a destination server.