How to Display the Contents of a DNS Cache
The Windows DNS cache on your computer holds the IP addresses of visited websites for a specified period called the time to live, or TTL. When you go to a website, DNS attempts to resolve the address by matching it to an entry in your cache before going to the Internet to find the address. If you have connection problems, its helpful to know how to view and flush the DNS cache.
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Instructions
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Click the Windows "Start" button. Select "Run" from the menu.
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Type the word "cmd" in the run box. Click "OK." A window will open. At the command line prompt, type "ipconfig /displaydns" and press the "Enter" key. You will see a list of entries in the DNS cache.
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View the results. You will see a list of entries in your DNS cache. Each entry starts with a URL that begins with "www." Next you will see the time to live. The last line, labeled "A (Host) Record" shows the IP address in your cache that corresponds to the website's URL.
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Copy the DNS entries to a text file. Type "ipconfig /displaydns >c:\dnscache.txt." Type "exit" at the prompt.
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Choose the "Start" button. Go to "Accessories" and "Notepad."
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Select "File" and then "Open." Browse to the C: drive, and look for the file called "dnscache.txt." Double-click to open it.
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Flush your DNS cache. Click "Start," then "Run." Type "cmd" in the box. At the command prompt, type ""ipconfig /flushdns." You'll get a message that the cache was successfully flushed.
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