Cannot Ping Computer Name That Begins with a Hyphen

ID: Q244739

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

You cannot use the command-line Ping tool to ping a host whose name begins with a hyphen.

The Ping tool uses hyphens to flag command-line parameters that follow the ping command.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

For example, assume a working host name such as "--z--z.microsoft.com". You cannot ping this valid host name with the following command:

ping --z--z.microsoft.com

The Ping tool cannot differentiate between a command-line flag and a computer name that begins with a hyphen.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb