Flush and reset a client resolver cache using the ipconfig command

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To flush and reset a client resolver cache using the ipconfig command

Value	Description
ipconfig	The name of the command-line program.
/flushdns	The command to flush and reset a client resolver cache.

Notes

Performing this task does not require you to have administrative credentials. Therefore, as a security best practice, consider performing this task as a user without administrative credentials.
To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.
To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type:

ipconfig /help
The ipconfig /flushdns command provides you with a means to flush and reset the contents of the DNS client resolver cache. During DNS troubleshooting, if necessary, you can use this procedure to discard negative cache entries from the cache, as well as, any other dynamically added entries.
Resetting the cache does not eliminate entries that are preloaded from the local Hosts file. To eliminate those entries from the cache, remove them from this file. For more information, see Related Topics.
Although the ipconfig command is provided for earlier versions of Windows, the /flushdns option is only available for use on computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.