Member Avatar for frank33

Today when I enter 'ipconfig' as a Command Prompt I get a message :
'ipconfig' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

It was OK the other day. ( This time I'm trying to check the OUI on my MAC address, since you ask. )

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Since confirmed that 's suggestion fixed the immediate error, the following adds root-cause checks, safer repair options, and guardrails to reduce the chance of a repeat.

Possible causes include installers or uninstallers that alter the system PATH, aggressive “tune‑up” or registry utilities, malware, a failed update that left system files inconsistent, or administrative scripts/group policy. was correct that something or someone changed an environment setting; on 64‑bit Windows an extra wrinkle is WOW64 redirection, which can make a utility appear missing from certain shells even when it exists.

Complementary diagnostics and repairs (run from an elevated prompt or PowerShell) include locating the executable, inspecting PATH contents, and repairing system files:

echo %PATH%
where ipconfig
powershell -Command "Get-Command ipconfig"
sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Notes: the location commands help confirm whether the binary is present and which PATH entries are being searched; SFC and DISM restore missing or corrupted system files (DISM first on Windows 8/10+). Always run these tools from an Administrator session.

Preventive steps: export or copy the current PATH value and keep a System Restore point or backup before major installs; avoid registry cleaners and opaque “optimizer” tools; limit daily use of an administrator account; review Event Viewer and recent installs to identify what made the change. If a missing executable was restored by copying from another machine (as and noted), prefer SFC/DISM where possible — copied binaries can mismatch builds or carry risk. The sign‑in picture behavior described is separate: automatic sign‑in is controlled by account sign‑in settings and enabling it reduces local security.

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Member Avatar for IIM

add "C:\WINDOWS\system32;" to the start of my PATH environment variable, like this:

  • Log in with Administrator priviledges.
  • Right-click "My Computer" & select "Properties."
  • Click "Advanced" tab.
  • Click "Environment Variables" button.
  • In the "System variables" box, scroll down to "PATH" and highlight it.
  • Click the "Edit" button.
  • In the "Variable value:" box, add to the very beginning of the text "C:\WINDOWS\system32;" without my quotation marks.

Make sure you include the semicolon.
Click OK three times.

Reference http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-networking/ipconfig-is-not-recognized-as-an-internal-or/e6315591-d900-41ba-89a6-dfc0e2623019

Member Avatar for mblan180131

If that doesn't work, command prompt works on exe files, so ipconfig is really a separate program. If you cd to system32 and type dir /w and ipconfig.exe is not there then you need to download it. Also you can set environment variables through command prompt by typing set system root "C:\windows\system32". If none of those work then I don't know what to tell you.

Edited by mblan180131 because: Missed a quotation mark
Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

Go to the root of your C drive and type

dir ipconfig.* /s

If it has disappeared from c:\windows\system32 you might still have a copy cached in a sub-folder which you can copy back to c:\windows\system32. Note, youy will need to open a command shell as asministrator to do that.

Member Avatar for CimmerianX

Seriously... If IPCONFIG.EXE is missing, just copy it over from another winodws system.

Member Avatar for frank33

Thanks to everybody, especially **IIM.

That did work, even though it was designed for XP, meaning it had 'My Computer' instead of 'Computer'.

Any idea how or why that disappeared in the first place, given that it was working a couple of weeks ago,
and I am not aware of doing anything that might have changed such parameters ?

Or to put it another way : to prevent this happening AGAIN, what should I AVOID doing ? Thanks.

Member Avatar for JorgeM

For your environmental variables to have changed, someone or something (another program) would have had to had done it intentionally. There's nothing that I can think of that would have caused your path variable to change by accident or something you unintentionally did unless you issued some commands within the command prompt that dealth with PATH, or were in the Environmental variables in system properties.

Member Avatar for frank33

no, still can't think of anything in command prompt I did that might be related.

Something to do with a recent system update ?

Speaking of which, what annoys me now is that recently when I switch on my machine,
a picture of me comes up as the named user and I have to click on it to start.

Something ELSE I reset accidentally ?

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Hard to say other than this incident is uncommon to rare. I don't think an update did this, specifically MS updates.

Member Avatar for frank33

Thanks. Question Solved. Thread Closed.

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