"DNS Request Timed Out" Error Message When You Start Nslookup From a Command Line

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This article was previously published under Q242906

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SYMPTOMS

When you start Nslookup from a command line, the following error message may be displayed:

DNS request timed out

timeout was x seconds
Can't find server name for address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx: Timed out
Default servers are not available
Default Server: UnKnown
Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the host on which you are attempting to start Nslookup.

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When Nslookup starts, it attempts to resolve the IP address of its host's DNS server to its fully qualified domain name (FQDN). If the DNS server does not respond or if the DNS server's reverse lookup zones do not contain a PTR record for the DNS server's IP address, the error message is displayed.

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RESOLUTION

If the host is configured to point to itself for DNS name resolution, verify that the DNS service is starting without error and that a PTR record exists in the appropriate reverse lookup zone.

You can manually create the PTR record if your DNS server does not have dynamic updates enabled. If dynamic updates are enabled, you can create the PTR record by typing the following command at a command prompt:

ipconfig /registerdns

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