The DNS information of all websites you visit are stored on your PC’s cache. Thus, websites you’ve visited before load much faster because you’re getting their DNS information straight from your PC’s cache.
However, there is a caveat to this advantage. If the DNS information of these websites change, which may happen when they change hosts, for instance, you may get a barrage of 404 errors. To resolve your access problems, you need to flush your DNS cache.
Flushing your DNS cache is pretty straightforward, regardless of what OS you’re using. The steps for flushing your DNS cache on Windows, MacOS, and Linux are given below.
Windows 10 and 8
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Press Win+X, then click Command Prompt (Admin).
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If a UAC prompt appears, click Yes.
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On the command prompt window, enter ipconfig /flushdns, then press Enter. You should see a Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache message on the command prompt after you run the command.
Windows 7
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Click Start, then enter cmd.
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On the search results, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
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On the Administrator: command prompt window, enter ipconfig /flushdns, then press Enter. You should see a Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache message on the command prompt after you run the command.
MacOS X 10.5 and above
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Go to Applications>Utilities>Terminal to open a terminal.
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Enter dscacheutil -flushcache.
MacOS X 10.4 and below
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Go to Applications>Utilities>Terminal to open a terminal.
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Enter lookupd -flushcache.
Linux
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Press Ctrl-ALT-T to open a terminal.
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Enter sudo /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart.
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Enter your administrator password, then press Enter.
