Windows 10 DNS issues

Question

I'm experiencing DNS issues on my Win 10 machine which are the following:

On system start-up, everything works just fine
After some time, DNS requests start to time-out
When requests are timed out, the issue either persists for some time and then it starts working again by itself for a brief period of time (after which the issue is cycling again) or it persists till I Disable / Enable my adapter (which fixes it immediately, again for a brief period of time)

More details:

It affects only DNS. Requests like ICMP or direct IP are just fine. If the connection is established and there is no need to request DNS again for it - it works without any issues for any period of time.

During the time when there is a DNS issue, I can observe the following:

C:\Users\almado>nslookup yahoo.com
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  8.8.8.8

DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    yahoo.com
Addresses:  2001:4998:58:c02::a9
          2001:4998:c:a06::2:4008
          2001:4998:44:204::a7
          98.138.253.109
          98.139.183.24
          206.190.36.45

and for the DNS server itself:

C:\Users\almado>nslookup
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Default Server:  UnKnown
Address:  8.8.8.8

What I've already tried

Using another DNS server (from snippets above it's obvious I was using Google public DNS at that time). I've tried using ISP-provided DNS both statically and with automatic settings options in the IPv4 of my network adapter

Resetting all caches, releasing the address and renewing the lease. I've also reset the winsock catalog, the full listing would be:

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Disabling smart name resolution / parallel requests. This is as it's described here. Important thing would be that the mentioned keys didn't exist and therefore I've added them
Disabling DNS Client Service (via services.msc). Disabling / enabling IPv6 in the network adapter options. These actions don't change anything.
Adding gpedit.msc console to the system manually (I have Home edition which doesn't have it by default) hoping to enable "Turn off smart multi-homed name resolution" there. But in the "Administrative Templates" > "Network" > "DNS Client" I do not have this option at all and more - all options which I have there have "Not configured" state.
Restoring default "Internet Settings". It's "Solution 5" from here.
Using anti-virus software to perform full scanning in case DNS is throttling me as I might have some malware. Nothing was found.

Of course I've rebooted the machine after mentioned modifications. It worth mentioning that the issues started to happen not long ago - same machine was working just fine without troubles and nothing was changed manually - but I believe issues started to occur after latest Windows update (not 100% sure about that).

I've also checked that it's not some firewall-related issues by disabling firewall completely and still observing same issue after some time.

Versions

System: x64
OS: Windows 10 Home 1607 / Build 14393.351

ipconfig /all (here I'm using my ISP LAN router as the DNS server)

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Home
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : hitronhub.home

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F0-79-59-81-96-65
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 3:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : E8-B1-FC-6B-AC-75
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter VPN - VPN Client:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VPN Client Adapter - VPN
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-AD-D0-34-8B-00
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter WiFi:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : hitronhub.home
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : E8-B1-FC-6B-AC-74
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, November 9, 2016 7:40:10 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, November 16, 2016 7:40:09 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

You are obviously using Google's public DNS server, so have you already tried utilizing a different source for DNS resolution to see if the problem persists? — Run5k, Nov 06 '16 at 23:33
Yes, I've tried ISP-provided DNS both statically and with automatic settings resolution (in the adapter settings for IPv4). — Alma Do, Nov 06 '16 at 23:34
I assumed that you had probably already done that. It may be a good idea to edit your question and add that information to your section titled _What I've already tried_. — Run5k, Nov 06 '16 at 23:51
Google's DNS will throttle you for too many queries over time. Check for malware. — Tyson, Nov 07 '16 at 01:09
Does my [answer here](http://superuser.com/a/970322/8672) help? — harrymc, Nov 09 '16 at 18:25
@harrymc as it follows from the _"What I've already tried"_ section - it doesn't (this was the third thing I've tried after googling a bit) — Alma Do, Nov 09 '16 at 18:34
Oups, this *was* my answer. OK, second try : [this answer](http://superuser.com/a/508057/8672) of mine - does disabling the DNS Client service help? Or disabling and re-enabling? Try also to disable IPv6 on the adapter. Afterward also post `ipconfig /all`. — harrymc, Nov 09 '16 at 18:48
As it follows from the second attempt of what I have tried - yes, I tried resetting winsock or dns settings. Although I didn't try stopping DNS Client service. The `ipconfig` added. IPv6 was never enabled (and I've tried to enable or disable that too as well) — Alma Do, Nov 09 '16 at 19:06
It wouldn't hurt to try stopping the DNS Client service (just to see if this is a problem I'm familiar with). Is this a home network or domain? I also see this is a wireless connection. — harrymc, Nov 09 '16 at 19:09
I've tried stopping DNS client, but still experiencing the issue — Alma Do, Nov 09 '16 at 19:17
More obvious stuff: (1) Stopping the antivirus, (2) updating wireless card driver or uninstall and reboot to use Microsoft's driver, (3) Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network reset. — harrymc, Nov 09 '16 at 19:21
Another obvious thing to check is available bandwidth download AND upload, on your local pc and on your internet connection, and any other slow points in between like a bad cable causing an ethernet link to fall back to 10mbps.. When it starts happening check your local bandwidth usage in task manager and turn off all other network devices in the house. Plus check all switches/routers that they indicate they are running fast enough. Also try rebooting your modem and router as they can become burdened with memory fragmentation and/or leaks. — BeowulfNode42, Nov 09 '16 at 19:37
@harrymc it looks like combination of disabling DNS Client Service + Resetting the Network to it's default configuration worked. "Combination" because: tried only Disabling Service - didn't help (and I enabled it back). Tried resetting network settings - didn't work. After resetting I tried to disable the DNS Client Service again just without thought it will work - and it looks like it does work. Usually I have cycle within ~15..30 minutes, now it's couple of hours without an issue. If it will work further - I'll keep you updated so you could collect the bounty — Alma Do, Nov 09 '16 at 22:04
@AlmaDo since you did all options there, I would suggest you use Tweaking.com Repair Tool, it might fix your issue without additional effort.. http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/windows_repair_all_in_one.html — iSR5, Nov 09 '16 at 22:22
It's quite possible that the problem was caused by some bad data related to the DNS Client service that could not be totally cleaned up while the service was still running. If I understand correctly, the order was : (1) Network reset, (2) Disable and re-enable the service. I hope your computer is not one where these actions need to be done repeatedly. — harrymc, Nov 10 '16 at 07:24
@harrymc so, it works. The necessity was : Disable DNS Client + Network Reset. Even if that will long not as a permanent solution (let's say, after some weeks it will appear again so I need to repeat the thing) - it's still far better than reset the adapter every 15 minutes. — Alma Do, Nov 10 '16 at 13:48
I have added an answer below summarizing the procedure. Feel free to suggest changes in it. — harrymc, Nov 10 '16 at 14:28
HI, I have came across this. Finally I found that it was caused by Macfee ! Some safe software with firewall may turn on its firewall to block port 53 for DNS. — Wayne Yang, Oct 13 '17 at 05:05
Checking the DNS protocol port availability was the first thing which I did at the time. Plus I didn't have mentioned software installed — Alma Do, Oct 18 '17 at 13:46

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 10 '16 at 14:26

4

This answer summarizes the research done by the poster and myself to analyze and fix the problem.

I describe here the sequence of actions that will (probably) fix the problem, followed by my theory why it works.

Step 1 : Stop the the DNS Client service

In the Start Menu of Windows, type services and click to run on Services
Find the service named DNS Client
Right-click the service and do Stop to stop it

Step 2 : Do network reset

In the Start Menu of Windows, click on Settings
Click on Network & Internet
Click on Status
Click Network reset
Click Yes

A detailed description can be found in this article. I believe that Network reset is probably equivalent to doing all the re-initialization commands listed above in the post.

Step 3 : Restart the DNS Client service

Repeat Step 1, but do Start instead to restart the service.
If the problem still occurs, try to reboot Windows.

My theory as to why it works

Apparently some bad setting related to the DNS Client service was introduced into Windows, which caused DNS to malfunction. Network reset is normally sufficient to bring the network to a known state, but in this case the bad setting could not be reset while the service was running. So the DNS Client service needed to be stopped for the Network reset to successfully reinitialize all the DNS settings.

answered Nov 10 '16 at 14:26

harrymc

455,459
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526
924

Now, I can't up-vote the answer since all my rep. went to a bounty, but I hope accepting it would be enough. – Alma Do Nov 10 '16 at 14:51
Thanks. I up-voted the post for starting on future reputation. – harrymc Nov 10 '16 at 15:06
1

For some reason, Win really wants the service to run. Every time it starts (I guess OS is starting it for some reason), I have a huge network lag and then the problem starts to appear again until I reset the network (so the solution from your post works again and again). For now I've set the service status to "disabled" hoping it will never be launched again, but questions would be: what if it still will be launched, how to forcefully disable it at all? And, if not - is it fine to disable this service, could it harm the system somehow? – Alma Do Nov 11 '16 at 23:31
Some Windows software uses the DNS Client service, for example ping. Other, such as nslookup, issues a DNS query to the network without using it. Browsers usually fall in the later case. This service holds a DNS cache, but so usually does the router. If all utilities that you use work correctly without it, including Windows Update, you can leave it disabled. If not, you could re-enable it and use a startup script to restart it (you wouldn't be the first). – harrymc Nov 12 '16 at 07:24

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 08 '16 at 21:30

0

Had same issue,

from what I have tested and read, you cant disable smart name resolution and parallel requests through registry in Windows 10, these registry edits refer to Windows 8 only.

You need to enable "Turn off smart multi-homed name resolution" in Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)

As you have home version, you need to manually install policy editor first, takes little tweaking.

answered Nov 08 '16 at 21:30

Batchman

1

Curious. I've added `gpedit.msc` manually without an issue. Now I'm following instruction for enabling this _"Turn off smart multi-homed name resolution"_ and.. well, it's absent where it should be (`Administrative Templates > Network > DNS Client`). What would it mean? (More, I have all entries there as `"Not configured"`) – Alma Do Nov 08 '16 at 22:31
not configured is default state, if its not set up – Batchman Nov 09 '16 at 17:57
So, why I don't have the mentioned option in `gpedit.msc`? Could it be because I've installed an "artificial" one, not MS-provided? – Alma Do Nov 09 '16 at 18:41
looks like ms does not allow home version users to turn it off – Batchman Nov 09 '16 at 21:01

Windows 10 DNS issues

2 Answers2