How to restore my default DNS?

Question

I hanged my DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 in order to fix my web browsing (it worked). My coworkers want me to change it back, but i didn't save it!

Is there any way to restore my old dns settings?

I'm using Windows XP and here's my network settings:

ip address is 192.168.0.53
subnet mask 255.255.255.0
default gateway 192.168.0.253

Solution

There is no way to determine what address the DNS server is located at, but you could try setting your DNS server to 192.168.0.253, as having a forwarding/caching DNS server on the local router is very common. As something is currently not working properly, I'm thinking you're having issues with internal lookups, indicating that there is an internal DNS server somewhere on the network.

Another thing that might work is to set your network configuration to DHCP, as that should give you a DNS server as well, provided that there is a properly configured DHCP server running on the network. If this works, you can use nslookup to see what your DNS server is, and set it statically afterwards.

If not, the sysadmin and/or your ISP knows what the DNS server should be.

Comments

[user]

Hi Monica. Did you try contacting your ISP for assistance either initially, or after realizing you wanted to reset the settings? What did they say?

[Ramhound]

Just reverse the steps you followed. The information you provided indicates you are using the DNS information provided by your router. What exactly isn't working, if you don't know, ask the person what it is.

[Josh Stevenson]

Just change your self back to automatic / DHCP. if you want to know how to do that I'll post an answer.

[jcbermu]

Try putting as DNS the IP address of the router 192.168.0.253. It isn't guaranteed to work, but there is a slight chance it could work.

[monica]

how do i set my network configuration to dhcp?

[Jarmund]

@monica In windows, this is referred to as "Obtain IP automatically", in the same configuration as you set the DNS server address. I do not remember if there's a separate selection box for the DNS or not. Anyway, go there, set them to automatic. NB: Remember the adresses before doing this, so that you can change it back later.