Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's

Just renaming HOSTS is not a complete procedure.
You must be doing an ipconfig /flushdns *after* that too.
Otherwise all those entries could still be loaded in the dnscache.
You can use ipconfig /displaydns to check in either case.

Is the HOSTS file staying empty? If not something is changing it.
Then see Frank's latest suggestions.

Otherwise it also just looks like you could have a flakey DNS.
Use ping -n 1 in a cmd window to check and to pre-load the dnscache
with whatever your DNS is giving you.


For example, using your sample problem host name I get:

<cmd_output>
E:\>ping -n 1 rd.software.yahoo.com

Pinging sc.clientapps.yahoo.akadns.net [66.196.80.232] with 32 bytes of data:
</cmd_output>

Notice that the name for the reverse lookup of the IP address is not the
same name as you are pinging? Then if you want that lookup to be cached
you need to ping that other host name too (aka its canonical name):

<cmd_output>
E:\>ping -n 1 sc.clientapps.yahoo.akadns.net

Pinging sc.clientapps.yahoo.akadns.net [66.196.80.232] with 32 bytes of data:
</cmd_output>

Then if you did an ipconfig /displaydns you would see both
an entry for a CNAME record for the host name that you want to use
and an A (Host) Record for the IP address which was selected for it.

If both weren't cached IE might have to do the same lookups every time
and never be able to take advantage of the cached entries.

Now, are those going to be enough? E.g. if there is subsequent redirecting
done via the HTTP session you might have to start all over again with a new
set of names. You could test with telnet...

It's hard to say what you would see that way but when I explicitly ask for it
using IE I just get Yahoo!'s generic 404 page:

http://sc.clientapps.yahoo.akadns.net/

Come to think of it, can you open that link when you have the problem symptom?
That would have the same effect as the cmd window tests I mentioned
and might be a sufficient workaround to let IE then open the original problem URL.

Hmm.... with that page open I did a /flushdns, then tried a Ctrl-F5 Refresh
then another /displaydns expecting to see evidence of another lookup
having been done, but there wasn't one then! Ok. I have seen rumours
of another DNS cache that IE does for itself internally. I guess this is an
example of that. So now we should amend our DNS problem procedure
to include: _*always*_ recycle iexplore.exe. E.g. close all IE windows and
verify with Task Manager that it is gone from the list of active Processes.
Once I do that and then retry my lookup test, the /displaydns works
as expected. That could be a crucial step too. E.g. if your symptom
occurs because of a bad lookup and you don't recycle iexplore.exe
all retries you do with it will be useless because it won't be retrying
a lookup.


Good luck

Robert
---

 

On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 09:42:03 -0700, David wrote:

Did you really proceed as per:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
?

I find it extraordinary that after all your efforts the same problems recur
within a very short time.

 

Don
I'm having the same problem but when I get to this site, C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc, I don't know what to do. Can you help? Thanks

 

Hi,

In reference to this 5 year old thread
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/microsoft.public.internetexplorer.general/mmEwvfJ-N-0

Navigate to the hosts file at [C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts] Open
the hosts file with Notepad and edit out all URLs. Leave only this (or
similar) text:

- - - - - -
# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
- - - - - -
Then save the hosts file before closing it.

Don