How to clear your DNS Cache (Windows & MacOS)

Your DNS cache (on your computer) stores the locations (IP addresses) of webservers that contain pages that you have recently viewed. If the location of the webserver changes before the entry in your DNS cache updates, you will be unable to access the site.

If you encounter a large number of 404 error codes, you may need to clear your DNS cache. Once you clear your DNS cache, your computer will query nameservers for the new DNS information.

The following methods allow you to remove old and inaccurate DNS information that may result in 404 errors.

Windows® 8

1. Press Win+X to open the WinX Menu.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
3. Type the following command and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns
4. If the command was successful, you would see the following message:

Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

Windows 7

1. Click the Start button.
2. Enter cmd in the Start menu search field.
3. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
4. Type the following command and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns
5. If the command was successful, you would see the following message:

             Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

Windows XP, 2000, or Vista®

1. Click the Start button.
2. On the Start menu, click Run….
   • If you do not see the Run command in Vista, enter run in the Search bar.
3. Type the following command in the Run text box: ipconfig /flushdns

MacOS® 10.7 and 10.8

1. Click Applications.
2. Click Utilities.
3. Double-click the Terminal application.
4. Type the following command:

   sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

   Warning: To run this command, you will need to know the computer’s Admin account password.

MacOS 10.5 and 10.6

1. Click Applications.
2. Click Utilities.
3. Double-click the Terminal application.
4. Type the following command: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache