How to Start “Identify and Repair Network Problems” Network troubleshooter from the command line

Introduction

Network problems are a common issue faced by computer users. It can be frustrating to have a slow or non-existent internet connection, and troubleshooting the problem can be time-consuming. The good news is that Windows has a built-in troubleshooter that can identify and repair network problems. In this blog post, we will discuss how to start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter from the command line using a Python script.

Identifying the Troubleshooter Command

Before we can initiate the troubleshooter through a Python script, we need to identify the command that starts the troubleshooter. According to Microsoft documentation, there are various commands available to open different troubleshooters, but the one we’re interested in is not listed. However, we can use the command-line tool “msdt.exe” to run the troubleshooter.

To find the command for the troubleshooter, we will first run the troubleshooter manually and then use the Process Monitor tool to capture the command that is executed. The Process Monitor tool is available for download from the Microsoft website.

Using Process Monitor to Capture the Troubleshooter Command

Once we have downloaded and installed Process Monitor, we can use it to capture the command that starts the troubleshooter. Follow the steps below:

1. Open Process Monitor and clear the display by clicking on the “Clear Display” button or by pressing “Ctrl + X”.
2. Start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter manually by clicking on the ethernet icon in the system tray and selecting “Troubleshoot problems”.
3. In Process Monitor, click on the “Capture” button or press “Ctrl + E” to start capturing events.
4. Switch back to the troubleshooter window and click on the “Next” button to start the troubleshooter.
5. Wait for the troubleshooter to complete and close the window.
6. Switch back to Process Monitor and stop capturing events by clicking on the “Capture” button again or pressing “Ctrl + E”.
7. In the Process Monitor window, click on the “Filter” button or press “Ctrl + L” to open the filter dialog.
8. In the filter dialog, enter “msdt.exe” in the “Include” field and click on the “Add” button.
9. Click on the “Apply” button to apply the filter.

The Process Monitor window will now display all events related to “msdt.exe”. Look for an event with a “Command Line” column that includes the troubleshooter command. The command will look something like this:

msdt.exe /id NetworkDiagnosticsWeb /diagnose 0x8004A005

Starting the Troubleshooter from the Command Line

Now that we have the command for the troubleshooter, we can start it from the command line using a Python script. We can use the “subprocess” module in Python to execute the command.

Here’s an example Python script that starts the troubleshooter:

import subprocess

command = 'msdt.exe /id NetworkDiagnosticsWeb /diagnose 0x8004A005'
subprocess.call(command, shell=True)

Save the above code in a file with a “.py” extension and run it. The script will start the troubleshooter, and you should see the troubleshooter window open.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we discussed how to start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter from the command line using a Python script. We identified the command for the troubleshooter using the Process Monitor tool and then used the “subprocess” module in Python to execute the command. This method can be useful for automating network troubleshooting or integrating it into a larger script.

To start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter from the command line, you can use the msdt.exe tool. This tool is part of the Windows operating system and can be used to start a specific troubleshooter by specifying the corresponding troubleshooter’s ID.

To start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter, you can use the following command:

msdt.exe /id NetworkDiagnosticsWeb

You can then use the subprocess module in Python to execute this command as a separate process. Here is an example of how to do this:

import subprocess

# Start the troubleshooter
subprocess.run(['msdt.exe', '/id', 'NetworkDiagnosticsWeb'])

This will start the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter as a separate process, and it will run independently of your Python script.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

The “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter can be launched using the following command line:

msdt -skip TRUE -path C:\Windows\diagnostics\system\networking -ep NetworkDiagnosticsConnectivity

The -skip TRUE option allows you to bypass the first screen and go directly to the diagnostics.

Alternatively, you can use this command:

rundll32.exe,C:\Windows\system32\Rundll32.exe ndfapi,NdfRunDllDiagnoseIncident

If you run the “Identify and Repair Network Problems” troubleshooter and then execute the following command:

wmic process where "caption='rundll32.exe' or caption='msdt.exe'" get /format:csv

you will see output similar to this:

Caption,CommandLine,ParentProcessId,ProcessId
rundll32.exe,C:\Windows\system32\Rundll32.exe ndfapi,NdfRunDllDiagnoseIncident,11088,10272
msdt.exe, -skip TRUE -path C:\Windows\diagnostics\system\networking -af C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Temp\NDFBC7D.tmp -ep NetworkDiagnosticsConnectivity,10272,10528

This indicates that clicking on the troubleshooter shortcut runs C:\Windows\system32\Rundll32.exe ndfapi,NdfRunDllDiagnoseIncident, which in turn launches msdt.exe with a command line that does not include msdt.exe and references a temporary file (NDFBC7D.tmp). This command line cannot be run on its own, but removing the -af switch allows you to run the troubleshooter without using rundll32.exe.