Overview
Your DNS cache stores the locations (IP addresses) of web servers that contain web pages which you have recently viewed. If the location of the web server changes before the entry in your DNS cache updates, you can no longer access the site.
If you encounter a large number of HTML 404 error codes, you may need to clear your DNS cache. After you clear your DNS cache, your computer will query nameservers for the new DNS information.
How to clear your DNS cache
Windows 10
To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows 7 or 10, perform the following steps:
- Click Start.
- Enter
cmdin the Start menu search text box. - Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
- Run the following command:
ipconfig /flushdns
If the command succeeds, the system returns the following message:
Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
MacOS
To clear your DNS cache if you use macOS X version 10.10.4 or above, perform the following steps:
- Click Applications.
- Click Utilities.
- Click Terminal.
- Run the following command:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
If the command succeeds, the system does not return any output.
Chrome
To clear your DNS cache if you use ChromeOS, perform the following steps:
- Open a new Chrome tab.
- Enter the following address
chrome://net-internals - Hit the Enter key.
- From the menu, select DNS.
- Click the Clear host cache button.
If the command succeeds, the system will perform any DNS lookups again.
RedHat Linux
To clear your DNS cache if you use CentOS or related Linux releases (for example, CloudLinux™ or AlmaLinux OS), run the following command:
systemctl restart dnsmasq.serviceIf the command succeeds, the system does not return any output.
Ubuntu
To clear your DNS cache if you use Ubuntu®, perform the following steps:
- Run the following command:
sudo systemd-resolve –flush-caches - Run the following command:
sudo systemd-resolve –statistics
If the command succeeds, it will return results with an empty cache.
