So, it has been a week and it happened again. Seems to happen once a week, and a restart is the only fix still. Definitely sounds like a Windows issue, but no one has any ideas?
Windows 10 random DNS server not responding error.
OK, so for the past week, I have gotten this random internet error. Everything would be working fine and then just suddenly I have no internet, and having Windows troubleshoot it gives me the error "The DNS server isn't responding." The strange thing is though, my wifi was still working perfectly fine (tested on phone) and the other PC in the house that is wired had no issues, so that rules out my router/modem. Still to be on the safe side, I did my own troubleshooting and so I: 1) restarted the modem and router, 2) bought a new LAN cable just in case, 3) changed the DNS server manually to Googles', 4) updated the LAN adapter drivers, 5) disabled and enabled the LAN adapter, and 6) even flushed the DNS (though I just read online about renewing it and the IP after which I will have to try if the issue happens again).
None of these solutions I read online worked, but you know what did? Restarting the PC. This led me to believe that this is a Windows issue, not any of my hardware. Considering it is only my PC which seems to be affected, and even if it lost the internet, everything else on the Network is working fine. And if the only fix seems to be to restart, then something in Windows is causing this. I just checked too when the last Windows update was, and wouldn't you believe it, 4/10/2019, update KB4493509. My issue only started happening on 4/14 ( I remember because Game of Thrones was starting soon). Never had an issue before, and that update is pretty close to cause me to wonder if it messed something up.
Also, the error seems to be pretty random, as it happened once, I restarted and all was good for the rest of the night. Then I left the PC on overnight to download a game and when I woke up, the game had finished and installed successfully but I lost internet again (this was on 4/14-15). After I restarted again and installed the new LAN drivers just in case, I didn't have this issue again until last night, 4/23. So I just wanted to ask if others have seen this issue, and if Microsoft is aware of any problems with the update or Windows 10 in general causing DNS errors that only a restart seems to fix. Thanks.
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity
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Anonymous
2019-04-30T20:21:58+00:00 -
Brian Tillman 24,955 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2019-04-24T20:09:42+00:00 So you did. Missed it the first time.
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Anonymous
2019-04-24T20:08:14+00:00 Right, like I said in my first post, I already tried changing the DNS.
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Brian Tillman 24,955 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2019-04-24T19:59:45+00:00 The DNS server is probably supplied by your ISP so if Windows loses connection to it, it might be the fault of the ISP. Try changing the DNS to 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 and see if that's more reliable. The first of these is Google and the second of these is Cloudflare. The latter server will also support DNS over TLS.