Outcome: You’ll clear bad DNS cache entries so broken websites start loading again on Windows.

Who this is for: Windows 10/11 users seeing DNS errors, random site failures, or pages that never finish loading.

Time required: About 1 minute.

Quick Answer

Open Command Prompt as Administrator, run ipconfig /flushdns, then refresh your browser. This resets Windows DNS resolver cache and often fixes “site can’t be reached” issues immediately.

The Single Trick: Flush the DNS Resolver Cache

Windows stores recent DNS lookups locally to speed up browsing. If that cache contains stale or bad entries, websites may fail even when your internet connection is fine. Flushing the cache forces Windows to request fresh DNS records.

Prerequisites

  • A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC
  • An account that can run Command Prompt as Administrator

Step-by-Step Actions

  1. Open Command Prompt as admin.
    Press Win + R, type cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
    Expected: An Administrator Command Prompt window opens.
  2. Run the flush command.
    Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
    Expected: You see: Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
  3. Reload the website.
    Close Command Prompt, then hard refresh your browser tab (Ctrl + F5) or restart the browser.
    Expected: Previously broken websites load normally.

Expected Result Checks

  • You got the “Successfully flushed…” confirmation message.
  • The website that failed before now loads without DNS errors.
  • New tabs to the same domain open normally.

Common Mistakes

  • Not running CMD as admin: can cause access problems or no effective change.
  • Typing the command incorrectly: it must be exactly ipconfig /flushdns (with a space).
  • Skipping browser refresh: browser cache can make it look like nothing changed.
  • Leaving VPN enabled during testing: VPN DNS routes may override local behavior.

Quick Troubleshooting

  • If websites still fail, run ipconfig /release then ipconfig /renew.
  • Then run netsh winsock reset and reboot once.
  • Temporarily disable VPN/proxy and retest.
  • Try a known resolver such as Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) if your ISP DNS is unstable.

Official References

Related Reads

Next Step

Use this as your first network triage move. If the issue returns often, set custom DNS (Cloudflare or Google) so your Windows box resolves domains more reliably day to day.