Ping/Tracert reports Destination Host Unreachable on local subnet
Hi all, I've noticed a bug with networking when you try to ping a non-existent or down host on the same subnet as the Windows 7 computer that it will return an error that the destination host is unreachable instead of the timeout message that it should give. Is there anyway to fix this? Anytime I see destination host unreachable I immediate think routing problems but this is not the case since since it's on the same network. Thanks Pete
November 1st, 2010 3:44pm

Hi, Based on my research, this is by design. Please check the difference between the two error messages: Error Message: Destination host unreachable. Explanation: The host that you are trying to ping is down or is not operating on the network. Error Message: Request timed out. Explanation: The ping command timed out because there was no reply from the host. Hope it helps. Alex ZhaoPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.
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November 5th, 2010 6:07am

Hi Alex, Yea it may be Microsofts design on the ping utility, but it's not right. If you look at RFC792 on the ICMP protocol it shows that destination unreachable messages are generated by gateways when there is either no route to the destination host or some other protocol/port issue. What I get is my own interface responding that the host is unreachable. As if my own NIC cannot find the network it sits on. I have IPV6 disabled. Is it choking because of that? thx Pete
November 9th, 2010 9:33am

Pete, You bring up a good point. For a host on the same subnet that does not respond to ICMP, the expected message should be "Request Timed Out". Ping and ICMP Error Messages http://www.anitkb.com/2010/06/ping-and-icmp-error-messages.html Visit: anITKB.com, an IT Knowledge Base.
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November 9th, 2010 10:22am

This is actually not an answer to the question. There are a lot of things in Windows 7 which are "by design" and make our life as networkers a pain. If you ping a non-existend address outside of the local segment, then W7 let the ping time out. It actually binds it's own reply on the ability to resolve the ARP request. Because the arp is satisfied for a ping outside of the segment it is quiet. If this is on the local segment and the arp stays unanswered it pretends to know that this is unreachable. For me as a networker this one of the fetures which is a pain. The REAL questin is if there is a registry setting to switch this selfish off??? There are a bunch of problems with the binding order when IPv6 is enabled. To fully disable IPv6 you need to switch it off in the registry. Disabling in the IP-stack in the network and sharing center is not enough. IPv6 alone seems to work sufficiently, but a mix with IPv6/4 yields funny (not to say utterly painful) experiences like intermittend connectivity etc. Patrick Geschwindner
June 15th, 2011 5:21pm

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