Hosts file being ignored

M

MaguMM

New Member
Hello,

I'm having problems with my hosts file and just don't know how to fix this.

Basically, we are in the process of switching hosting providers and want to check our website on the new server before it's going live.

For this, I added the new IP and domain name to the hosts file. Problem is, the system seems to ignore it and keeps showing the site on our old IP address.

A ping revealed that the hosts file is perfectly fine; however when we did a nslookup of the same domain, the old IP address came up.

I've also flushed the dns and followed these instructions, but to no avail:
Windows 'hosts' file ignored: solution

Does anyone have any further suggestions or knows what causes this?

Thanks in advance!
 

My Computer

System One

Hello MaguMM and welcome to the forums :party:

Have you tried pinging the domain? NSlookup tests a DNS server and doesn't use the HOSTS file as far as I'm aware.

Code: 
ping website.com

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
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    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
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    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
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    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
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    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
I've also heard that sometimes you need a restart before windows checks your hosts file changes. Albeit with Vista it is supposed to reload it as soon as you save it, it's worth a try.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
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    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
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    1366x768
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    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
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    Single built in fan
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    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
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    Built in
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    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
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    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
Hi Tom & Slammer, thanks for your replies.

Yes, I should have mentioned - we did a ping and the IP address that came up was the correct one. I have also just tried to restart the computer after changing the hosts file, then deleting the cache as always, but still the same problem: The IP in the hosts file is simply ignored.

The strange thing is that on a laptop with Windows 7 we've not run into any difficulties at all.

I have mentioned this to our hosting provider as well and they said: "On Windows XP it should be an easier process if you have Administrator access. On Vista/7 it has more steps to do due to the increased security."

Unfortunately they haven't been more specific. As I'm using the laptop with Windows 7 for this process now, the issue is luckily no longer urgent, but it's still annoying and I'm just really curious to find out how it can be solved .... any ideas would be most welcome! Surely I can't be the only Vista user with this kind of problem?
 

My Computer

System One

Hmm. Well I know next to nothing about servers and web sites and the like, so this next bit advice might be completely irrelevant, but I'll post it anyway: when I have any type of issue with my internet, i just unplug my router and modem for 30 seconds and then plug them back in, and that solves it. Like I said, I don't know if this is in any way relevant to the problem you're having, but there you go :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
    Cooling
    Single built in fan
    Mouse
    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Internet Speed
    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
    Other Info
    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
MaguMM said:
Hello,

I'm having problems with my hosts file and just don't know how to fix this.

Basically, we are in the process of switching hosting providers and want to check our website on the new server before it's going live.

For this, I added the new IP and domain name to the hosts file. Problem is, the system seems to ignore it and keeps showing the site on our old IP address.

A ping revealed that the hosts file is perfectly fine; however when we did a nslookup of the same domain, the old IP address came up.

I've also flushed the dns and followed these instructions, but to no avail:
Windows 'hosts' file ignored: solution

Does anyone have any further suggestions or knows what causes this?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

tom982 said:
Hello MaguMM and welcome to the forums :party:

Have you tried pinging the domain? NSlookup tests a DNS server and doesn't use the HOSTS file as far as I'm aware.

Code: 
ping website.com
Tom
Click to expand...

Hello!

I don't have a lot to add, and networking isn't my biggest forte, but what Tom said, I think.

As far as I know, ping looks up the IP address of a website. This will be altered by your router and Hosts file.

But nslookup goes through your DNS Server. Your Hosts file is not your DNS Server. Your router quite likely has a DNS function (which is often actually slower than disabling it and going to your ISP's DNS Server every time, but I digress) and so you could modify that, but I don't think that Hosts file + nslookup is going to go to where you want it to, without propagating ISPs DNS servers.

However, how about just entering your new IP address into your web browser raw. That avoids DNS completely, and should allow you to browse your website on your new server.

What Tom said, basically!

Richard
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 420
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
    Motherboard
    Stock Dell 0TP406
    Memory
    4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
    Hard Drives
    1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
    PSU
    Stock PSU - 375W
    Case
    Dell XPS 420
    Cooling
    Stock Fan
    Mouse
    Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
    Keyboard
    Dell Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    120 kb/s
    Other Info
    ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
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