What Is Flush DNS? How to Clear DNS Cache on Windows, Linux, MacOS

Flush DNS is easier to understand when the core ideas are explained in practical terms. This guide covers what it means, how it works, why it matters, and the main details you should know.

What Is DNS Flush?

Flush DNS is to clear the DNS cache. Why do you have to do this when this memory helps you access the web faster? Because when websites change their IP address or switch to another web server and your DNS cache has not been updated, errors will definitely occur. Even if there is nothing unusual about the internet, you still can't access the website with typical errors such as 404 page not found. Therefore, clearing the DNS cache will help your computer update the web information and successfully access that website. So how to flush DNS? Each operating system will have a different way of doing it, please see the next section!

What Is DNS Cache?

DNS cache is a system that temporarily stores IP addresses corresponding to domain names that users have visited. The browser sends a request to the DNS server to resolve the domain name into an IP address when a user visits a website for the first time.

This IP address is then stored in the DNS cache on the user's computer to speed up access for subsequent visits without having to perform the query process again.

The DNS cache stores information in the form of records, including the IP address and the Time to Live (TTL) of each record. The time to live determines how long the record will remain valid in the cache before it needs to be refreshed. Flushing the DNS cache (also known as flushing DNS) is necessary to ensure that you can access the new address without errors when a website changes its IP address.

How to Flush DNS on Windows Operating System

Follow these simple steps: This helps you clear DNS on a Windows computer.

Step 1: Before flushing DNS, close all applications on your computer. First, open the Start menu, open the search box and type "cmd" then press enter. Or you can press the Windows R key combo to open the Run dialog box and type "cmd".

Step 2: Now Windows command prompt will appear. You type " ipconfig /flushdns " into it and press enter. Wait a moment, Windows command prompt will display the result " Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache ". That means the DNS cache has been successfully flushed. Now you can try reloading the website to see if the error has been fixed.

Try disabling the DNS cache completely to see if it helps if flushing DNS doesn't fix the error. Follow these steps: This helps you do that.

Step 1: Open Windows command prompt as instructed above by pressing Windows R to open the Run dialog box, type " cmd " and press Enter.

Step 2: Enter the following command " sc servername stop dnscache " or " net stop dnscache " and press Enter. This will disable the DNS cache until the computer restarts. Now reload the website to see if the network error has been fixed.

How to Flush DNS on MacOS

Each version of MAC operating system will have a different way to flush DNS, but in general, all follow the following steps:

Step 1: Open Finder, open Applications, Utilities and select Terminal.

Step 2: Type the following command (depending on the operating system version):

- For Mac OS 10.10.4 and higher versions:

Sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.

- For MacOS 10.10.1, 10.10.2, 10.10.3:

Sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache.

- For Mac OS 10.7, 10.8, 10.9:

Sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.

- For Mac OS 10.5, 10.6:

Sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

You need the password of the Admin account on the machine. This helps you execute the above command. The system will not give you any notification if the DNS cache clearing process is successful. Open the website and reload to see if the error has been fixed!

How to Flush DNS on Linux Operating System

A popular application for flushing DNS on Linux is the Name Service Caching Daemon (NSCD for short). You can clear the Local DNS cache by restarting NSCD via the following command in the terminal:

Sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

You can use the following command: if you use Ubuntu Linux.

Sudo service network-manager restart.

Press enter to execute the command and then the DNS cache will be cleared.

How to Disable Firefox

You can follow these steps: This helps you disable Firefox.

Step 1: Close the browser:

• Click the "X" button in the upper right corner of the Firefox window to close the browser.

Step 2: Uninstall Firefox (if you want to remove it completely):

• Open the Start menu on Windows.
• Select "Control Panel".
• Find and select "Programs and Features".
• Find Mozilla Firefox in the list, right-click and select "Uninstall" to uninstall.

Step 3: Turn off sync (if you don't want to use this feature):

• Open Firefox, click the menu and select "Preferences" or "Settings".
• In the "Sync" section, turn off the sync option.

Step 4: Disable extensions:

Simply close the browser if you just want to temporarily stop using Firefox without uninstalling it.

In the Extensions tab, you can disable or remove unnecessary extensions.

Above are some knowledge about how to clear DNS cache to help fix the error of not being able to access the web. Hopefully the article has helped you know how to flush DNS on different operating systems. Leave your email below to receive useful technology articles from this guide!

Final Thoughts

The most reliable way to handle flush DNS is to follow the process in order, verify each important setting, and test the result before moving on. Use the guidance above as a practical reference, then adjust the details for your device, software version, or specific goal.