DNS cannot resolve host name . Short guide how to fix

[Astrid Kaufmat]

Hello. If you're here it means that for several reasons you can't login in secondlife and you get as feedback that pity message that says all and nothing "DNS cannot resolve host name bla bla bla bla..."

This can happen for several reasons.

1) if your internet or if your internet provider have iussue or it is doing a rolling backup maintenance

2) if secondlife is doing a rolling maintenance or if the grid has iussues

3) if you got griefed and disconnected by one of those  users who are around with lame hacked viewers that would allow them to crash targeted residents ( as you could see in many video that those  braggers publish on youtube).

In any case for any reason if you get that message it's cause your DNS got cached and it's time to refresh them.

Many people tried to fix this just by tools or programs that they use for pc mainenance or just using a commandline ipconfig /flushdns. That's not enough, we need just few more steps to fix the iussue.ipconfig /flushdns alone is not enough to deeply clear your dns cache as it's not always a good choice using tools to do it in automatic way.

So first of all let's see how to fix this in Windows.

For windows

Before we start clean your browser cache and history and also secondlife viewr cache and history , if you haven't set it up to do it at each restart.

The following guide will work with any versiion you got : windows XP, windows vista, windoes 7 , windows 8

The guide might seem a bit long but, as you know, if you want things well done you must get your hands dirty.

So let's click start and go to accessories then find the command prompt ( it's shown as a little black square)

don't click it but right click and select from menu "run as administrator"

Type your administrator account password when asked by the program

now you are runing the command prompt  ( our good old ms DOS window)

in the command prompt just type the following commands:

ipconfig /flushdns

net stop dnscache

net start dnscache

ipconfig /flushdns

 

Wait and don't close the command line yet just minimize it.

 

so let's click start and then  go to control panel

Find your network adapter (depending if you have a wireless network or no)

click then on network or on local area connection

at this point you should see the local area connection window

Percect!

At this point select from  the window above  INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 4 (TCP/IPv4)

then click  PROPIETIES

At this point you should see the window below

 

We are going to install now a static Ip adress for your machine and also to set DNS adresses

 if you  don't know how to fill the first part of this window

go back to the command line and type this command

ipconfig

you will see something like the window below

In this window I have used a yellow frame to show you what are the calls that you need to consider at their right side you find for each of them the sequence of number yhat you must  write in the internet protocol version4 window.

The second part of the INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 4 asks you for DNS adresses. You can find in internet several lists for primary and secondary DNS adresses

here is one

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/a/free-public-dns-servers.htm

you chose two and those will be the first and secondary DNS

then just in case they might fail we can dd also others .

To do this from the INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION4  window  at the bottom of it  click  ADVANCED.

 Now you can see your DNS listed and clicking on add you can add more of them.

Now close these window clicking ok, but don't close yet the command prompt.

Go again in the command prompt and type this command

ipconfig /registerdns

optional
: if you wish to see if the DNS cache has been cleaned, you can type the following command and hit Enter:

ipconfig /displaydns

wait untill it says that it is done, then close all and reboot your pc.

At your next login anything should be fixed. Of course this would work when the cause is due to your DNS that got cached, in other words if the iussue is client-side. This won't help you if your Internet provider is doing maintenance or if Secondlife is doing maintenance. To check if secondlife grid is fine just visit their blog : http://status.secondlifegrid.net/

 

If after this you still have iussues with indows a dirty trick is to use just set up your Ip adress and DNS as auto (dynmic ) from the internet protocol verswion 4 windows that we have seen above.

For those using an internet protocol version6 the procedure is similar just selecting internet protocol6 instead of 4 and doing the steps above.

 

For Linux

to flush the dns use your command line

then type: /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart press Enter and your cache will be flushed.

 

For Mac

Go to applications then Utilities

then

- For MacOS type:dscacheutil -flushcache         

and hit enter

- For MacOS X leopard type : lookupd -flushcache

hit enter.

 -For MacOS Lion type: dscacheutil -flushcache  

hit enter

-For MacOS Tiger just type: lookupd -flushcache

hit enter

and your dns cache is flushed.

 

 

:matte-motes-sunglasses-1:

 

Extra tips:

Don't touch any object that asks you to connect to external site for any reason even if they want you to do it to tyake you to work in some pub, club or locals of any sort .

I've seen people around with strange tools also declaring to test their workers through some machines to grab their IP adress and mac adress, for what a mac adress would ever help them.Hovewer collecting ip adresses associated to names made by private residents is an illegal practice in many countries plus knowing your adress they might get you down with an attack so just say NO NO NO . This is even more important for residents using an optical fiber connection or for those whose provider keep them line in a big LAN with few internet adresses .

Do not click on links or login on pages that look like Secondlife page, but always use your browser to look for it.

Never direct click on youtube links but  read the last serie of signs after the = and type those in a youtube page that previously you had open

Never visit private sitres or fora or blogs without a good proxy.

Disable auto play media in your secondlife viewer and also play media on object.

If you do not need it for other things it's also good to not use java virtual machine nor any other exploitable plugin as Quicktime.

 

[Awe Thor]

Thank goodness you didn't post a long guide . . .

Awe . . . thought he was in SLAnswers for a moment

[Awe Thor]

---

Astrid Kaufmat wrote:

Hello. If you're here it means that for several reasons you can't login in secondlife

---

Erm, no, some people just enjoy reading the self-aggrandising vanity fare in the forums.

Awe . . . especially confused ESLers.

[Storm Clarence]

I read your instructions for 'flushing the dns" under Linux and I could not execute the command *restar* as you described.  Did you mean to write *redstar*, but this command does not exist either.   

[Storm Clarence]

: knows a command when he sees one.  Even when he is drunk.

PS  Want to try again Willie?

 ETA This post was to Willie, but I can see his were removed, and rightly so.

 

 

[Astrid Kaufmat]

Hi. Well thanks for the hint I fixed the T that I mispelled you know I am always hungry and love to eat T when I see them

I am not sure why it's not working for you, prolly cause you might be on another distribution (than the ones I use to use), but as you teach me and well know,

if you use Ubuntu kubuntu or xubuntu

for those three versions do this

/etc/init.d/dns-clean restart

for all the other distributions that I found and tested what I wrote above works perfectly.I love Debian cause it's so far what inspires my creativity.

Of course I haven't been to much detailed for linux as for windows cause whoever is on linux knows its job*winks* and doesn't need much assistance like a windows user could need.

However /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart   worked also on a live kubuntu that I downloaded.

other thing that I forgot, as you teach me, well those commands in linux have to be given  as super user.

Thanks for the support ,storm.

Friendly greetings.

 

[Storm Clarence]

I do not have name-service issues, but thanks anyway.

PS It always works for me.