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How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in Windows XP

One of the components of the Internet connection on your computer is a built-in set of TCP/IP instructions. TCP/IP can sometimes become corrupted. If your connection to the Internet is really slow or you cannot connect to the Internet, and you have tried all other methods to resolve the problem, TCP/IP might be causing it.

Because TCP/IP is a core component of Windows, you cannot remove it. However, you can reset TCP/IP to its original state. If you have any custom settings (default gateway, DNS server, etc.), you will need to set these again manually.

Use an automatic method to reset TCP/IP

Revised 10/7/2020. The Microsoft Fix It application to automatically reset the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in Windows XP initially referenced in this article is no longer available for download.

Use a manual method to reset TCP/IP

Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help. In Windows XP, a reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:

  1. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
    cmd
  2. At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
    netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
    Note: If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
    netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

When you run the reset command, it rewrites two registry keys used by TCP/IP. This has the same result as removing and reinstalling the protocol. The reset command rewrites the following two registry keys:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DHCP\Parameters\

To run the manual command successfully, you must specify a file name for the log, in which the actions that netsh takes will be recorded. When you run the manual command, TCP/IP is reset, and the actions taken are recorded in the log file, known as resetlog.txt in this article.

The first example, c:\resetlog.txt, creates a path where the log will reside. The second example, resetlog.txt, creates the log file in the current directory. In either case, if the specified log file already exists, the new log will be appended to the end of the existing file.

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