Category Archives: Windows XP

Display entries in Windows DNS cache

Posted by on August 19, 2010 No comments

Applies to: Windows

DNS search results are cached on local systems to prevent a lookup every time the search is required. Sometimes during troubleshooting it is helpful to see the contents of the DNS client cache. This recipe describes the process of viewing the Windows DNS cache.

To view the DNS cache on the local system, type the following command from a command prompt:

ipconfig /displaydns | more

The | more is optional and will pause the output after each screenful which may be helpful since the DNS cache can get large and the output format uses several lines per record.

A sample output from this command is shown below. This is an address lookup for the host microsoft.com. The Record Name and A (Host) Record lines show the request and answer. The Time To Live field shows the number of seconds before this entry expires.

microsoft.com
—————————————-
Record Name . . . . . : microsoft.com
Record Type . . . . . : 1
Time To Live  . . . . : 3597
Data Length . . . . . : 4
Section . . . . . . . : Answer
A (Host) Record . . . : 207.46.197.32

Clear DNS Cache Manually

Posted by on June 24, 2010 No comments

Applies to: Windows, Cisco

When you use DNS to resolve hostnames to IP addresses or services end point addresses, you sometime may want to clear the DNS cache manually.

On Windows you can clear the DNS cache with the “ ipconfig /flushdns ” command.

On Cisco gear you can use the “ clear hosts * ” in enable mode.

Missing Security Tab in Windows XP

Posted by on February 13, 2010 No comments

Applies to: Windows XP

If you have Windows XP, and your hard drive is formatted as NTFS, you can set permissions on files so that only users you specify can access them. However, if your Windows XP computer is not part of a Domain on a network, you may notice that there is no Security tab when you right-click a file and choose Properties. For some reason, the default for Windows XP computers that are part of a Domain is to have that visible.
For Windows XP computers that are not part of a Domain (they are stand-alone, or part of a workgroup), the default is to have the Security tab hidden.

To reveal the Security tab follow three simple steps:

  1. Open Windows Explorer, and choose Folder Options from the Tools menu.
  2. On the View tab, scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings and clear (click) the check box next to “Use Simple File Sharing.”
  3. Click OK to apply the change, and you should now have a Security tab when viewing the properties of a file on an NTFS volume.