Flushing your DNS on Windows

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Most operating systems will cache (save) IP addresses and other associated Domain Name System (DNS) records in order to fulfill future requests more quickly.

For example, when I visit a website for the first time, my Brave web browser has to ask DNS servers what the IP address is for the requested website. Once it has found this information, my Brave web browser will store it in its local cache and take me to the requested website.

The next time I access that website, my Brave web browser will first check for locally saved DNS records which saves a step by not having to fetch that server IP address again.

When you update the DNS records for your domain name, after transferring to a new hosting provider for example, your local cache needs to be cleared and updated. Otherwise your web browser may continue redirecting you to the old web server address until the DNS propagates throughout the web (usually after 24 hours).

Also, sometimes dangerous IP addresses or corrupted results can be cached along with other issues not mentioned here. Whatever the reason, Windows will allow you to force the process of clearing this cache or “flushing” your DNS. In this article I will show you how to quickly and easily flush your DNS cache on Windows.

 

Delete the DNS Cache on Windows

Forcing Windows to flush your DNS cache will assist with expediting the transfer of your website to another hosting provider. Simply follow the instructions below to flush your DNS cache.

  1. Click the Windows logo to access your Start menu and type in “cmd“. There may not be a search or input field so just start typing “cmd“
  2. You should see “Command Prompt” App appear from the list of available options. Right mouse click on it and select “Run as administrator“.
  3. With the Command Prompt window up, type: ipconfig /flushdns
  4. Press the “Enter” key to execute the above command. You should see the following message appear: Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

Congratulations, after a few seconds you will have successfully flushed your DNS cache on your Windows PC.

 

How to Flush DNS Cache Windows

 

Conclusion

I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions on my article on how to flush your DNS cache on Windows.

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