SixDifferentWays: Flushing the ARP Cache on Windows XP

Have you had this problem? You're doing a bunch of work on the 'Net. You take care of some other business and come back to your computer an hour or two later.

You cannot access any web sites. They all say "xxx.com cannot be found" or similar frustrating message. You check your Internet connection. All systems are go. You can IM a buddy. But you can't surf the web.

You try different browswers. Firefox, IE, Mozilla, even Opera don't work. You can occasionally get lucky trying something different. Sometimes you manage to figure out how to attempt a repair. You're hopes are up . . . and then dashed again when you receive this message:

Windows Could not finish repairing the problem because the following operation could not be completed: Clearing the ARP cache. For assistance, contact the person who manages your network.

Network? What network? I don't have my home computers networked, what the heck is Windows talking about?

After living with this near-daily annoyance, I finally found the solution, courtesy of SixDifferentWays, a groovy blog that I couldn't stop reading--and I've got work to do! Click this link for the answer:

SixDifferentWays: Flushing the ARP Cache on Windows XP