How to change name resolution order on Windows 95 and Windows NT

The following registry entries control name resolution order for Windows NT version 3.5x and Windows 95: Each value is a BINARY value between -32768 and 32767, specified in hexadecimal notation. The lower the value, the higher the priority in the search order.

You can use existing values by rearranging them in a needed order. (Use scientific calculator, for example, to compare hexadecimal numbers). Deleting an entry disables the corresponding resolution method.

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following registry entry controls name resolution order for Windows NT version 4.0: A value of 0 (default) indicates that Domain Name System (DNS) protocol name resolution has priority over NetBIOS over TCPIP (NetBT). A value of 1 indicates that NetBT name resolution has priority over DNS.

Note By default, Windows 2000 and later versionss try to resolve a name through DNS before they try to resolve it through the earlier-version node-type configuration. DNS or NetBIOS lookup order priority cannot be modified by applying this registry entry in operating systems that are later than Windows NT 4.0.

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

The above entries are found in the following registry locations:

Windows NT

Windows 95

In order to set priorities in Windows 95, you must create new keys and values with the following steps:

1. Use regedit to open the following location:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services
2. Click on Edit, New, then Key to create a new key under Services and name it MSTCP.
3. Move to the new MSTCP key, and click on Edit, New, then Key to create a new key under MSTCP and name it ServiceProvider.
   
   The registry path should now look like this:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSTCP\ServiceProvider
4. Move to the new ServiceProvider key, and click on Edit, New, then Binary Value to add the priority values noted above (DnsPriority, LocalPriority, HostsPriority, and NetbtPriority).
5. Set the priority values as needed.