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How to restore Windows HOSTS file

flag Scope

Restoring the HOSTS file to the default values.

construction How-to
  1. Navigate to the HOSTS file path, %WinDir%\System32\Drivers\Etc
  2. Rename the HOSTS file to HOSTS.old, you are going to delete this later
  3. Open Notepad
  4. Paste the following:
  5. 
    # Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
    #
    # This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
    #
    # This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
    # entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
    # be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
    # The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
    # space.
    #
    # Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
    # lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
    #
    # For example:
    #
    #      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
    #       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host
    
    # localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
    #       127.0.0.1       localhost
    #       ::1             localhost
                    

    If for any reason the output file is named HOSTS.txt, try to save it again, this time with the following settings:
    • File name: HOSTS
    • Save as type: All Files

  6. Move the newly created file to %WinDir%\System32\Drivers\Etc
  7. If everything is working fine, you can delete the old copy of the file, HOSTS.old


school Further considerations





Article ID: SYS-WIN-0007