Troubleshooting Name Resolution Problems

If the IP address responds but the host name does not when you use ping, you have a name resolution problem. In this case, use the following lists of common problems in name resolution to find solutions.

Name Resolution Problems in HOSTS

These problems can occur because of errors related to the HOSTS file:

• The HOSTS file or DNS do not contain the particular host name.
• The host name in the HOSTS file or in the command is misspelled or uses different capitalization. (Host names are case-sensitive.)
• An invalid IP address is entered for the host name in the HOSTS file.
• The HOSTS file contains multiple entries for the same host on separate lines.
• A mapping for a computer name-to-IP address was mistakenly added to the HOSTS file (rather than LMHOSTS).

Name Resolution Problems in LMHOSTS

These problems can occur because of errors related to the LMHOSTS file:

• The LMHOSTS file does not contain an entry for the remote server.
• The computer name in LMHOSTS is misspelled. (Notice that LMHOSTS names are converted to uppercase.)
• The IP address for a computer name in LMHOSTS is not valid.