Windows 10 can't resolve hostnames - ping with IP works but not with hostname

Question

Facts:

1. The browser doesn't load any pages, whether they are addressed with IP or hostname.
2. ping google.com doesn't work, returning Ping request could not find host google.com.
3. ping 216.58.209.78 (google IP) does work, sending and receiving all packets.
4. nslookup google.com does work, returning correct IP address that then does indeed work with ping.
5. Network settings are default, IP and DNS are set to auto.
6. Specifying OpenDNS in network settings does not help.
7. There are no entries in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\host
8. There are no DNS prefixes in use.
9. netsh winsock reset & netsh int ip reset does not help.
10. DNS client is running.
11. The most common given solution on the Internet ipconfig /flushdns & ipconfig /registerdns does not work, with latter returning Registration of DNS records failed: Parameter is not correct. It happens occassionally to people, but I have not found possible solutions to this problem. I sense this might be the key to my ordeal.
12. All of the above happens for different networks.
13. The PC has been recently formatted. One guy had the same problem and it helped to restore the previous PC name, but I have no way of finding what the name was before the format.

14. ipconfig /all is as below. The first paragraph looks a bit blank, perhaps something there...?

    Windows IP Configuration
    
       Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : 
       Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
       Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
       IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
       WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
    
    Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
    
       Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
       Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 2C-60-0C-9B-A8-89
       DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
       Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
    
    Wireless LAN adapter PoĄczenie lokalne* 2:
    
       Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
       Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : AE-E0-10-65-58-B9
       DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
       Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
    
    Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:
    
       Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Karta sieciowa Broadcom 802.11n
       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : AC-E0-10-65-58-B9
       DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
       Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
       Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::fc42:138f:fb5a:f6ff%12(Preferred) 
       IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.172(Preferred) 
       Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
       Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 21 grudnia 2015 22:16:55
       Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 28 grudnia 2015 22:21:43
       Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
       DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
       DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 217.172.224.160
                                           192.168.0.1
       NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
    
    Tunnel adapter isatap.{9E3DA69D-E183-4041-9944-35B59277B529}:
    
       Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
       Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
       DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
       Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
    

    15. Setting DNS to 8.8.8.8 doesn't work, see replies to suggestions beneath.

    16. It doesn't resolve local hostnames either. The machine doesn't respond to pings from local network.

Any ideas how to proceed? Help my dad enjoy his internet!

Answer 1

a. You can try to manually set the dns servers to the google ones: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

b. You can try another wireless adapter

c. You can try a linux live cd and verify if the issues are still present

Answer 2

I just came across this same issue on a Windows 10 Dell tablet that one of my users brought into the office. Same issue, communications via IP work, but name resolution not working (aside from nslookup, oddly that was working fine).

After digging into this for a few minutes I also discovered that the tablet was missing a hostname entry when doing an ipconfig /all (same as shown in your screenshot above), so I went into the System properties and found that there was no computer name set in there. Added a computer name, rebooted, et voila! Name resolution is now working properly.

Answer 3

In my case, I have hyper-v manager installed and has one virtual switch that bridges my NIC with it. Try disabling/removing the virtual switch in hyper-v manager (elevated user needed). This one works for me. Maybe Windows 10 or hyper-v has a buggy virtual switch.

Answer 4

I had the same problem, but the hostname was present. In addition, running ipconfig /flushdns would hang. Changing the hostname by adding a 2 to the end and then rebooting seems to have fixed the problem.

Answer 5

I've had these symptoms two or three times in the past after installing a new NIC or router, using WinXP and Win7. Solutions varied, but in one case the issue was resolved by unticking the "use NetBIOS over TCP" box. In the other case I remember having to run some unusual command line utility (not ipconfig /flushdns; something else that I don't quite recall) to flush cached somethingsomethingsomething. One thing I'd check is whether local (LAN side) hostnames resolve ok. If it's only WAN side hostnames that don't resolve properly then at least you know the problem is not on your PC.

Answer 6

The fact that the computer was recently reformatted could indicate a problem with the drivers for your network adapter(s).

Open "View network connections" and try disabling each adapter one-by-one. After disabling each one, test the DNS and then re-enable it. Perhaps you'll find one that's causing your DNS problems - if you do, you could try reinstalling the driver for that particular adapter.

Answer 7

All the things suggested by other posters failed, so I resorted to drastic measures and did a full format with a fresh Win 10 install. It did work.

Answer 8

The answer is in the first section of the ipconfig.

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : 
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Host name is blank.

Set the computer name in Control Panel\System and Security\System, and all will be well.