Action

Resetting the Windows Sockets Catalog to a clean state or default configuration can help sometimes when troubleshooting network connection issues.

Instructions

1. In the Start menu, search for "CMD"

2. Choose to open the Command Prompt app with administrator permissions (Run as administrator)

3. Enter the command "netsh winsock reset" and press Enter

4. Restart the computer to complete the reset

Additional information

Some Internet connectivity problems arise out of corrupt Winsock settings. Windows sockets settings may get corrupted due to the installation of a networking software, or perhaps due to malware infestation. You will be able connect to the Internet, but the packets won't transfer back and forth. Errors such as "Page cannot be displayed" may occur when using Internet Explorer.

It removes all Winsock LSP (Layered Service Providers) previously installed, including the potential malfunctioned LSP that causes loss of network packets transmission failure. So all previously-installed LSPs must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.

Here is what each piece of the command means:

• netsh: this is a Windows utility that allows one to display or change network settings locally or remotely. The first part of this command simply tells Windows which utility you wish to use; the rest of the command consists of arguments to this utility.

• winsock: this argument to the "netsh" utility specifies the context for the command. We want to affect the winsock implementation of the Windows system we're running the command on, as we suspect that something spooky has been corrupted there. Another context that could have been specified here instead would be "ip."

• reset: this argument is an instruction within the previously-specifies context and sub-context means what it says, to reset to default. An example of another instruction that could have been specified here would be "show."