How to flush your DNS cache

If you've made changes to your domain name settings, you might need to give your computer a nudge to see the result.

What is a DNS Cache?

A cache is simply a local copy of information that has been retrieved from a remote location. DNS refers to Domain Name Services and is the system that tells your computer the location of domain name based web addresses.

When changes are made to a domain name's settings, your computer might sometimes continue to use its now out-of-date local cache. In most cases simply waiting or retrying several time will fix the issue, but if you're in a hurry you can clear your DNS cache either by restarting your PC or as follows:

For PCs

Click the 'start' menu
Choose the 'Run...' option.
A small window should appear prompting you to 'type the name of a program...'
Type 'command' and click OK or press the return key.
Another window should appear with a back background, some white text, and a flashing cursor
Type 'ipconfig /flushdns' and press the return key
You should see a message telling you that your action has been successful
Type 'exit' to get rid of the window, and that's it.

For Mac OS X

Open the app called Terminal, (found in In Applications / Utilities)
Type 'dscacheutil -flushcache' and hit the return key, and that's it.

If it's a web-page address issue you're trying to solve, you might need to quit your browser before updating your DNS cache.

If all else fails...

... turn it off and on again!

[ 02-Sep-2011 ]