Each user knows how offensive it is when the Internet connection is lost. Everything seems to be in order with a computer or router, but when diagnosing problems, the system writes "DNS server is not responding." What to do in this case, not everyone knows. And before you make a decision to fix the problem, you first need to find out what exactly the failure may be associated with.
What is a DNS server: summary
First, a brief look at what a DNS server is. As you know, each computer or server connected to the Internet has its own unique IP address (if it is static and does not change). But you won’t remember such a huge number of digital combinations for accessing a specific resource.
Using a DNS server allows you to "bind" the address to a domain name. Therefore, information in the form of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols is entered in the address bar. It is enough to remember even the name of the resource, and through DNS, when entering the address, it will be redirected to the attached IP. Only such services can sometimes fail. Next, we will consider what to do if the DNS server does not respond, but for now a few words about possible problems.
Possible Causes of Failures and Major Types of Failures
In general, the errors themselves can be conditionally divided into two broad categories: problems on the part of the provider or the visited resource and failures associated with incorrect settings of user computers.
In the first case, there is no point in undertaking anything to rectify the situation, since, as is already clear, nothing depends on the user here. Another thing is when errors appear due to a “gathering” or a deliberate change in the network settings in the operating system. And here there can be a lot of reasons. But among the most common, the following can be distinguished:
- short-term malfunctions in the OS or router;
- blocking by the protection system;
- incorrect DNS settings in the settings of the protocol used;
- Incorrect DNS settings on the router
- disconnected state of the DNS client;
- cache overflow and errors of other network parameters;
- exposure to viruses.
Resource DNS server does not respond: what to do?
As for short-term failures, which are really quite common, not a single computer system is safe from them.
Suppose that during diagnostics the system displays a message that the DNS server is not responding. What to do? WiFi seems to be working, but there is no internet access. First you need to check the connection from another device (at least from a mobile phone). If there is a connection, then the matter is in the computer terminal itself. In this case, you should simply perform a full reboot.
If the connection is not available on all devices, it may be a router. For him, you need to perform a reset (reboot). However, using the Reset button, which is usually located on the rear panel, is not recommended (although you can hold it for several seconds). It is best to completely disconnect the router from the mains for about 10-15 seconds, and then turn it on again. Some users advise shutting down for a period of 15-20 minutes, but, I think, this is unnecessary. It may very well be that after rebooting, access will be restored.
Unlocking
Sometimes installed antivirus and even the built-in Windows firewall can block the operation of DNS. In this case, first you need to temporarily disable anti-virus protection and try to open some site.
If everything is fine (and the resource is safe), it should be added to the list of exceptions.
The same goes for the firewall. First you need to disable it, but if its use is absolutely necessary, at least the browser you use must be added to the new exception rule. In the end, the browser itself can be changed to another. Perhaps the reason is precisely in it.
Manual configuration of the DNS server in the IP protocol
However, as practice shows, very often errors are associated with incorrect settings. Suppose the ByFly server DNS is not responding. What to do in this case? The solution is to change the DNS settings.
You can do this in the section "Network and Sharing Center" in the "Control Panel", where the menu for changing the parameters of the network adapter is selected. Here you need to find the currently used IP protocol (usually IPv4) and go to its properties.
In most cases, the fields received during the connection will be indicated in the fields of the preferred and alternative servers. To get started, you can set the address to be automatically obtained for the DNS server.
If this does not help, you can use open combinations like Google services, which consist, for example, of four eights and four fours, two eights and two fours, etc. There are enough variations. This method almost always helps.
DNS server is not responding. What to do? Router and its settings
But these were only network parameters. But what if incorrect parameters are set on the router? Indeed, in this case, an error message will also be issued, and the user will again begin to wonder what to do if the DNS server does not respond.
You will have to look at the settings of the router by going into them from any browser by entering the address indicated on the nameplate below (as a rule, it starts with a combination of 192.168, and the last two digits, depending on the model, can be either 0.1 or 1.1).
Now you need to use the WAN partition. The actions are similar to what was done in the IP settings. If nothing is specified in the address fields, addresses are assigned automatically. There is nothing easier than writing the combinations specified in the protocol settings.
Checking DNS Client Status
But the above actions may not have the proper impact. What if the DNS server is not responding in this case? One of the solutions may be to check the service itself (perhaps it was stopped for some reason).
To do this, go to the appropriate section using the "Run" console (Win + R) and registering services.msc in it. Here you should find the DNS client service and look at its status. If the client is deactivated, double-click to call up the settings menu, press the power button, and set “Automatic” in the startup type.
Update Network Card Drivers
Rarely, of course, but you can encounter problems with network card drivers. What to do if the DNS server does not respond, and the driver is to blame? Just update them.
This is done from the "Device Manager", which can be called from the administration section, "Control Panel" or from the "Run" menu with the devmgmt.msc command. Through RMB, the driver update line is simply selected. If the user has a non-standard network adapter, it is better to download the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website using the VEN and DEV identifiers for this (it is best to use the longest line in the description).
However, in order not to bother yourself, you can install automated utilities like Driver Booster, DriverPack Solution, or something else. Updating after scanning and confirmation will be done automatically and without user intervention.
Additional actions
Finally, if all the above steps do not have the desired effect, you can try to clear the DNS cache and reset all configuration settings.
To do this, the command console is launched (required on behalf of the administrator), and the following commands are written in it (without punctuation marks):
- ipconfig / flushdns;
- ipconfig / registerdns;
- ipconfig / renew;
- ipconfig / release.
After all these commands have been completed, a restart of the computer system is not required in principle. But for fidelity, restarting is still worth it.
Viruses
All the described solutions can turn out to be completely ineffective only because some malicious virus or malicious code has firmly established itself in the system, which, through its actions, spontaneously changes the settings. In the event that DNS failures are not associated with any of the above reasons and are not observed either by the provider, or by the resource, or by the user, a full in-depth scan of the system will be required.
A full-time antivirus will not work, so it’s best to use utilities like Kaspersky Rescue Disk, which check before the OS starts (they must be written to removable media and loaded from it, setting the appropriate priority in the BIOS settings).