An error connecting to the Internet when the system reports that the DNS server is not responding, the device or resource is unavailable, there is no connection, etc., is the real scourge of Windows, regardless of the version installed. This may be due to objective, independent of the user, and subjective reasons, when the user intentionally or unintentionally changed some important connection parameters or turned off the services responsible for access to the Internet.
Many in this situation simply give up, not knowing what to do. Meanwhile, this problem is being completely eliminated. Below are some simple solutions that any user can use, even with minimal knowledge of system settings.
How does a DNS server work and what does it do?
To begin, let's briefly dwell on what a DNS server is and by what principles it works. Speaking in the simplest language, without delving into the technical aspects, the DNS server is a kind of converter of domain names into machine-friendly addresses of the requested Internet resources.
Each page on the Internet has its own unique network address, but you cannot remember all the combinations. It is much easier to use an alphanumeric symbol instead of a digital address. Roughly speaking, you enter the name of the site in the address bar of the browser, and not a set of numbers. And it is the DNS server that is responsible for converting such a name to digital code.
DNS server device or resource is not responding: Network error diagnosis
But why then in some cases errors may appear? It’s almost impossible to say unequivocally what this or that failure was connected with. However, with a high degree of probability it is possible to identify the causes of failures.
If the system reports that the DNS server is not responding, the device or resource is unavailable, first start by diagnosing network connections using the troubleshooting tool, which can be found in the most common “Control Panel”. Although Microsoft specialists claim that this tool allows you to fix problems identified at the stage of diagnosis, in fact, in most cases, the result is zero. But the reason can be indicated very accurately.
Resolving short-term failures
If any errors occur in the DNS server, device, or resource that cannot be accessed, the first thing to do is restart the computer device. If you use routers (routers and ADSL modems that work in wireless mode) to distribute the wireless signal, you must also restart them by resetting the settings. To do this, simply unplug the device from the mains, pause for about 10-15 seconds, and then turn on the power again and wait for the software installed on the router to fully load.
Problems with antivirus software
It also happens that a device (DNS server) does not respond only because the redirecting resource itself is blocked by antiviruses. In particular, the reviews of specialists closely involved in resolving problems of this kind indicate that the appearance of such a situation is often associated with the notorious Avast antivirus. Besides the fact that such sins were noticed behind him, very often he also gives false positives, blocking legal programs, and even does not always respond to viral threats.
If you have this kind of protection installed, disable the antivirus, and then try to log in to some site. If the problem goes away, whether you like it or not, you will have to get rid of the antivirus.
Change DNS Settings
If this is not the reason, but the system with enviable persistence reports that the DNS server resource is not responding, you must specify the address of the resource with which there will be no problems. You can use free combinations provided, say, by Google or Yandex. The most popular are Google’s public servers.
To change the settings, call the network connections section (ncpa.cpl), go to the properties of the active connection, then open the IPv4 protocol properties, check the box for using DNS addresses manually (rather than receiving parameters in automatic mode), and then enter the above combinations in two blocks , save your settings and check your internet access.
Note: if this does not work, change the DNS options on the router, indicating the combinations presented, save the settings and reboot the device.
Restarting the DNS Client Service
If the error with the message that the DNS server is not responding, the resource or device is unavailable, appears again, check the status of the DNS client service. Call the appropriate section (services.msc), open editing client options and start the service (if it is disabled), setting the automatic start type.
If the service is already in an active state, stop it and restart it. Just in case, you can restart the system, although this is usually not required.
Clear DNS Cache
If this does not help, you will have to use, so to speak, heavy artillery in the form of a command line, where you will need to clear the DNS cache and reset the settings. You need to run the console exclusively on behalf of the admin, otherwise you will not get the required result.
On the command line, alternately set the commands shown in the image above to execute, when finished, close the console and restart the computer terminal or laptop. In most cases, this particular solution eliminates the problem completely.
Note: if none of the above methods could be corrected, if you use the tenth modification of Windows on your computer, in order not to lose the installed programs and your own important data, you can reinstall the OS and save them. To do this, you must use either the installation image or the bootable media created on its basis, and after deploying the contents, for example, in the standard "Explorer", run the installer file Setup.exe on behalf of the administrator, after which at one of the preparatory stages indicate which components must be saved during the reinstallation of the system.