Many a time, the Windows XP ARP cache becomes corrupt and needs to be cleared. The first symptom which points to a corrupt ARP cache is that connections to web pages will time out and fail.
Occasionally, clearing the ARP cache will fail due to a bug in Microsoft Windows XP. When you try to use Microsoft Windows to repair the network connection, you will receive an error message that says:
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.
How To Solve The “Unable to repair ARP cache” bug in Windows XP
This bug occurs when Routing and Remote Access service of Windows XP is enabled. Routing and Remote Access service is almost unnecessary and can be turned off.
To disable Routing and Remote Access service:
- Click on the “Start” button.
- Click the “Run” button.
- Type “services.msc” and hit Enter.
- Scroll down to “Routing and Remote Access” under the “Name column”.
- Double-click “Routing and Remote Access”.
- Set the “Startup Type” to “Disabled”.
- Also make sure the service status is Stopped. If it is not Stopped, click the “Stop” button.
- Click the “OK” button.
- Close the services window.
Try clearing the ARP cache again. It will complete with no error messages. 
37 comments ↓
Thank you for this. I have just run into the problem and could not figure out how to fix it.
Glad to know it helped you.
Fixed it for me too!
^^
I’m having this same problem – but I do use Microsoft Remote Web Workplace.
Is it safe for me to attempt turning this routing and remote access process off?
I can open some web pages- not all, but it doesn’t always allow me to open links within, – I feel like I’m getting rerouted…??? I don’t know.
@ Kim – I don’t think, you should turn the service off if you are really using it. Ask your network admin to find out if you need the service.
Thanks. It helped me too
THIS IS A GOD SEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fixe my problem too. Many Thanks.
This is much quicker a fix than rebooting my computer Intranet ~ bloody XP.
Many thanx
And me lol
thank you this helped me out alot my internet was so slow
windows could not finish repairing because the following action cannot be completed.
Clearing the ARP cache
contact the network person
you’re my hero! thanks!
Thanx dude!
does this mean, now that its fixed (thankies btw!), i can turn it back on?
hi ,thx 4 assistance but u knoe what ,my platform is win server 2003 & im using it as a domain controler ,that means i cant stop the rras service ,how can i realy get rid of this bug ??????????????
thanks it worked for me too
Thanks guyz very helpful. Althou we gotta look 4 a way to make da 2 tasks work simultaneusly… i kno ya kno. Thumbs up!
Very helpful, thanks!
I think it is remarkable that Microsoft does not even have this problem on their Knowledge base!
hummmm…..
DD yes that was easy for simple users,but how about those who use’s the routing &remote acces service?4 example in the server 2003 when u want to config a NAT server !!!! u thoght that micosoft is that fool!!! if u find the seloution about it ,please mail it to me thx,otherwise dont be so happy that u figure out something that it wasnt at the microsoft detabase
I noticed no one stated that if you are in need of the service, you may be able to disable it long enough to repair the arp cache, and turn the service back on to automatic, and start it to begin the service.
thanks a lot. Man how did you know that? did Gates tell? anyway thanks
you the man, thanks
I had been having problems with another aspect of XP, ran services.msc and turned off everything I could think of. That stopped the rhythmic spiking to 100% CPU usage I was getting, but it screwed up a lot of other things (LOL…well, yeah…go figure). So I went back and turned on a bunch of things, some of which obviously should not have been turned on. Thanks for letting me know that this was one of them. Mine is a case where a little knowledge is, indeed, a dangerous thing!!
;o)
Now it won’t even connect to the linksys i’m using.
Didn’t have the slightest idea how to fix the ARP cache problem. It worked ! Thanks a lot.
ok SP3 thit bug is fixed
Thanks, really helped.
So many answers to this problem that don’t work but this one is excellent.
Thanks, really helped.
So many answers to this problem that don’t work but this one is excellent.
Thank you – very much! I agree with others that there are many answers to this question that don’t work or ask for money, or even make it worse. But your advice is excellent. Thank you! *PEACE*
thanks for your help
Thanks..headches solved!
I’m having this problem in Windows XP service pack 3 but the setting was already set to disabled. I have tried various commands such as ‘ netsh interface ip delete arpcache’, which comes back with ‘OK’, but nothing seems to work. This is very frustrating as I have only just managed to get my firewire recognised in windows again after it had disappeared altogether from IPCONFIG. Now I have got it back I can’t use it. I have had this working recently networked with my linux computer.
Thank u, I can solve my problem too
nailed it! You were my first result in google
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