How to Change Name Resolution Order on Windows 95 and Windows NT

Last reviewed: October 23, 1997
Article ID: Q139270

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
Microsoft Windows 95

SUMMARY

The following registry entries control name resolution order for Windows NT version 3.5x and Windows 95:

   DnsPriority
   LocalPriority
   HostsPriority
   NetbtPriority

Each value is a DWORD 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:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q170619
   TITLE     : Windows 95 ServiceProvider Priority Values Not Applied

The following registry entry controls name resolution order for Windows NT version 4.0:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
   \Tcpip\Parameters\DnsNbtLookupOrder

A value of 0 (default) indicates that DNS name resolution has priority over NetBIOS over TCPIP (NetBT). A value of 1 indicates that NetBT name resolution has priority over DNS.

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q171567
   TITLE     : NT 4.0 ServiceProvider Priority Values Not Applied

MORE INFORMATION

The above entries are found in the following registry locations:

Windows NT

   \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    \System
     \CurrentControlSet
      \Services
       \TCPIP
        \ServiceProvider

Windows 95

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

Use regedit to open the following location:

      \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
       \System
        \CurrentControlSet
         \Services

Click on Edit, New, then Key to create a new key under Services and name it MSTCP.
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
```
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).
Set the priority values as needed.

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119372
   TITLE     : Setting the Name Resolution Search Order for TCP/IP-32

Additional query words: 95 3.50 3.51 4.00
Keywords : nttcp kbhowto kbnetwork
Version : 95 3.50 3.51 4.00
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: October 23, 1997
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