Ping and trace route procedures are two methods used by GatherPlace support staff to determine the response times between your computer and our servers which can be helpful in the troubleshooting process. If you are asked to by our support staff to conduct a Ping or Trace Route test, follow the procedures below for Windows computers or click this link for Macintosh computers.

For more information or details on these analysis tools, see these Wikipedia articles:

• Tracert
• Ping

1. Open the Run dialog by clicking the Windows key and the R key on the keyboard or by selecting Run from the Start Menu.
   The Windows key is usually located in the lower left corner of the keyboard between the Ctrl and Alt keys.
   
   
2. Type 'cmd' (no quotes) into the Run dialog and click the OK button.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. The command prompt window will appear.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Type the following at the command prompt: tracert www.gatherplace.com
   Hint: You can also copy the command above and right-click at the command prompt and select the Paste option from the menu as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Click the Enter key.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. The trace route should show a steady progress as it traverses the Internet between your PC and our servers.
   Once the trace is complete you should see a 'Trace Complete' message in the command window as shown below.
   If you do not get the 'Trace Complete' message as shown below, or there are long delays between the hops, there may be a problem with your connection to our servers.
   If this is the case for you, try a Ping as listed below to see if you can successfully ping the server.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. If the results are all 'Request timed out', as shown below, click the Ctrl and C keys to end the trace route.
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Click the Ctrl and C key to end the trace route manually if desired.

1. Open the Run dialog by clicking the Windows key and the R key on the keyboard or by selecting Run from the Start Menu.
   The Windows key is usually located in th lower left corner of the keyboard between the Ctrl and Alt keys.
   
   
2. Type 'cmd' (no quotes) into the Run dialog and click the OK button.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. The command prompt window will appear.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Type the following at the command prompt: ping www.gatherplace.com
   Hint: You can also copy the command above and right-click at the command prompt and select the Paste option from the menu as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Click the Enter key.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. The ping should show a steady progress as it pings the GatherPlace servers.
   Once the ping is complete you should see the 'Ping Statistics' message in the command window as shown below.