The Winsock reset is a crucial secondary step. While the IP reset handles the protocol, Winsock handles the "hooks" that software uses to access the network. Resetting both ensures that no third-party software or malware remnants are blocking your traffic. Restarting the Stack on macOS
In older operating systems (Windows XP and Server 2003), the TCP/IP stack was managed by a specific service that could be stopped and started independently. In modern Windows architectures (Vista+), the TCP/IP driver ( tcpip.sys ) is a kernel-mode driver. It cannot be stopped while the OS is running. Therefore, a "restart" of the stack requires a registry reset and a system reboot. restart tcp ip stack