Why does pinging my Ethernet IPv4 address return “General failure”?
Asked by
MellowPine42
I've already tried resetting Winsock and TCP/IP with netsh, flushing DNS, and restarting my laptop, but the issue remains. Two laptops connected directly through an RJ45 cable can ping each other, yet they cannot ping my laptop. I also can't ping the IPv4 address assigned to my Ethernet adapter. Pinging 127.0.0.1 works, and my Wi‑Fi IPv4 address responds normally. What could be preventing the Ethernet address from responding?
Answers
The fact that Wi‑Fi works but Ethernet does not points more toward the Ethernet adapter, its driver, or its configuration than DNS. In Device Manager, reinstall or update the Ethernet driver, then inspect the adapter’s properties and remove any unexpected virtual networking software. You can also compare the Ethernet IP settings with the other laptops to confirm they’re on the same subnet.
Reply to this answer
Check the Windows network profile and firewall rules for the Ethernet connection. Set the connection to Private if it’s a trusted direct network, then allow Network Discovery and the inbound ICMP Echo Request rule for the Private profile. The sharing settings alone may not be enough if the firewall is still blocking ping traffic.
Reply to this answer
Since 127.0.0.1 works, the basic TCP/IP stack is probably functioning. Check the Ethernet adapter’s IPv4 settings with ipconfig and make sure it has a valid address, subnet mask, and no conflicting static configuration. A duplicate IP or incorrect subnet can cause this kind of failure. Also temporarily disable Wi‑Fi and test again so Windows is using only the Ethernet interface.
Reply to this answer
Add your answer
Answers are reviewed before publication.
Related Discussions