Installing the TCP/IP protocol on a Windows 9x computer also installs a host of utility programs. Each of the utility programs allows us to make use of one of the suite of protocols that makes up TCP/IP.

But these utility programs don't appear on the Start menu. You'll find these programs installed in the \Windows folder. One of the best known of these programs is the Telnet client, which you use to run a text session to a Telnet host. This could be another computer, a router, a switch, or a print server.

To open the Telnet program and connect to the Telnet host, type telnet and the IP address to connect to at a command prompt or in the Run dialog box. Here's an example:

telnet 192.168.0.5

Another one of these programs is helpful when trying to troubleshoot connection problems between Windows computers on complex networks.

Tracert.exe traces a route between your computer and a given IP address on your network, listing all of the "hops" or gateways it passes through on its way. To run the command, type tracert and the address to trace a route to. Here's an example:

tracert 192.168.0.5

A successful trace lists each hop and reports a successful trace with the final address listed as the last hop. Entries such as the ones below indicate that the trace wasn't successful because it didn't find the next hop (the final host or next gateway).

15 * * * Request timed out.
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.