How to Clear or Flush the DNS Cache in Windows

  • February 5, 2019
  • Read 100,593 times
 

If you are not able to connect to a particular site and its IP addresses is not resolving properly, it could be a problem with the DNS servers that you are connecting to or an incorrect DNS entry cached in the Windows DNS cache.

If you are having this problem, before you change your DNS servers, you should first you should first try to clear your DNS cache and see if that fixes your problem.

To clear, or flush, the DNS cache in Windows, you can perform the following steps:

  1. Right-click on the Start Button or press the Windows+X keys on your keyboard. When you do this, a menu will open that contains either Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). When you see one of these options, click on it and allow the program to run when Windows asks you for permission.
    Right-Click Menu
    Right-Click Menu
  2. When the Command Prompt or PowerShell opens, type ipconfig /flushdns and press enter on your keyboard as shown below.
    ipconfig /flushdns
    ipconfig /flushdns Command
  3. After you press enter, you should see the command return "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache." This indicates the command ran successfully and you can now close the PowerShell or Command Prompt Window.

Now that your DNS cache has been cleared, or flushed, you can attempt to connect to the site again. If the problem still persists, then you may want to contact your ISP or change your DNS servers to Google's 8.8.8.8 service of Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS service.

Users who read this also read:

  • How to Find & View the Files Installed by a Chrome Extension Image
    How to Find & View the Files Installed by a Chrome Extension

    Whether it be because you suspect a Chrome extension is malicious, you want to create a backup of a favorite and discontinued extension, or you just want to see how the extension works, knowing how to find and view the files installed by a Chrome extension can be useful.

  • How to Export a Registry Key in Windows Image
    How to Export a Registry Key in Windows

    When making a change to the Registry, it is recommended that you first create a export of the entries that you are about to modify. This allows you to save the information to a Registry file, or .reg file, so that if a problem occurs you can import the original settings back into the Registry.

  • How to Open a Windows Command Prompt Image
    How to Open a Windows Command Prompt

    The Windows Command Prompt is a Windows shell that allows you to execute command by typing them in and pressing enter on the keyboard. This article will provide two methods that you can use to launch the Command Prompt in Windows.

  • How to Restart the Windows Explorer.exe Process Image
    How to Restart the Windows Explorer.exe Process

    When using Windows 10, you may find that the Windows desktop has frozen and you can no longer use the Start Menu, click on programs, drag files, or switch between windows. When this happens, it may be caused by the Windows Explorer, or Explorer.exe, process having issues and can typically be fixed by restarting it.

  • How to see hidden files in Windows Image
    How to see hidden files in Windows

    By default Windows hides certain files from being seen with Windows Explorer or My Computer. This is done to protect these files, which are usually system files, from accidentally being modified or deleted by the user. Unfortunately viruses, spyware, and hijackers often hide there files in this way making it hard to find them and then delete them.

 

Comments:

blog comments powered by Disqus
search tutorials
Mandiant mWise Conference 2024

Login