DNS Problems with Windows 8.1

Question

Two days ago my computer got an update. After the update was done I shut down my computer and went to bed. The following morning, I went to go use my computer, but it would not load any website- it would simply load before telling me it couldn't connect due to a problem with the DNS lookup.

In order to solve this problem I have tried:

-Deleting network adapter drivers, forcing them to reinstall

-Manually updating adapter drivers from product page

-Troubleshooting for adapter problems

-Unchecking Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)

-Giving IPv4 preferred and alternate DNS server IPs

-Switching between WiFi and Ethernet Cables

-Flushing DNS cache (or whatever it's called) in command prompt

-Full system shutdown (computer, router, all of it for 10 minutes)

-Endless reboots

-Giving the adapter a manual network address (looked up using command prompt)

My computer is the only thing affected by this problem. Laptop, tablet, smartphone, alternate computer- they all work unaffected. Any new suggestions are welcome, I am will to try anything except a fresh install of Windows 8.1 (which is only to be used as a last resort). Thanks for any useful suggestions I haven't listed, I hope someone here can help!

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

I appreciate your troubleshooting steps.

As per the description, I understand that your internet stops working sometimes and getting an error message.

This might have occurred due to some third party application conflicts.

I need some information.

1. What is the make and model of your computer?
2. Have you made any changes to your computer prior to this issue?

Try the methods.

Method 1:

Step 1:

I suggest you to try to boot the computer in safe mode and check if you get the same error. Please refer to the below Microsoft article and check if it helps.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-safe-mode

Step 2:

If you don’t receive the error message in safe mode, I suggest you to perform clean boot and check, using this Microsoft Article because may be a third party application is causing this issue.

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

NOTE: A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update or when you run a program in Windows. You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot. You must log on to the computer as an administrator to be able to perform a clean boot. Your computer may temporarily lose some functionality when you perform a clean boot. When you start the computer normally, the functionality returns. However, you may receive the original error message, or experience the original behavior if the problem still exists. If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from following these steps.

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Once you perform clean boot do refer to the section **“How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting”**to boot the computer in normal mode.

Method 2:

I would suggest you to perform a SFC Scan and check if it helps.

Refer to the following link given below.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833

Note: While performing SFC Scan I would recommend you to make sure that there are no applications or programs running on the back ground.

Hope this helps. Please let us know the results. We will be glad to assist you further.