On a Windows PC or laptop, you must have noticed a webpage, that you visit often, is just not loading up, even though it seems to be working fine on other devices. Well, this problem arises due to the DNS Cache being corrupt.
For people unaware, DNS Cache is a file that includes the hostnames and IP addresses of the websites you have visited. As the name suggests, it caches the webpage, which results in the webpage loading faster the next time you open it. While most systems connected to the internet automatically update the cache and hostname, problems arise when the IP address of a webpage changes before the update and that’s when the page just fails to load up. Thankfully, there are easy ways to flush or clear DNS cache in Windows 10:
Note: We tested the method on Windows 10 but it should work fine on devices running Windows 8.1, 8, 7, Vista or even XP.
Clear DNS Cache Via Command Prompt
1. First up, right click on the Start Menu and open up “Command Prompt (Admin)“. You will be prompted with a UAC (User Account Control) permission pop-up, just click on “Yes” to launch Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
2. In Command Prompt, paste the command “ipconfig /flushdns” and press Enter.
3. This will flush the DNS cache and you will get a message saying “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache“.
That’s it, the command just resets the DNS cache while removing the older cache files, which might have been causing the errors while loading a webpage.
Clear DNS Cache using Batch File
You can even flush the DNS cache using a batch file in Windows 10. A batch file features a set of commands and you can just run to execute those commands. So, if you have a somewhat dislike towards Command Prompt, you can just download the batch file and run it to clear the DNS cache on Windows.
Other Handy DNS and IP Address Related Commands
If you are still facing issues with a webpage, you can check out other commands to fix DNS Cache or IP address related problems:
- ipconfig /displaydns: Check out the DNS record under Windows IP configuration.
- ipconfig /release: Release your current IP address settings.
- ipconfig /renew: Reset your IP address settings.
SEE ALSO: How to Reset and Flush DNS Cache in macOS Sierra
Clear or Flush DNS Cache in Windows 10 to Fix Webpages Not Loading
Well, that was easy, right? You can just run a command or a batch file and you are good to go. The webpages should start loading fine once you have reset the DNS cache. If you are still facing problems or have any other problems that arise due to DNS, do let us know in the comments section below.
