Question:

How can I stop or restart the dnscache service in Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)? I have tried using sc.exe and PowerShell commands, but neither of them worked. I got an error message saying “cannot open dnscache service on computer ‘.’”. Is there any other way to manage services in WinPE?

Answer:

How to Stop or Restart the DNS Cache Service in WinPE

Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) is a lightweight operating system that is used for deploying, testing, and troubleshooting Windows-based systems. WinPE provides a minimal set of services and drivers, which means that some features and commands that are available in the full Windows operating system may not work in WinPE.

One of these features is the DNS Client service (dnscache), which is responsible for resolving domain names to IP addresses and caching the results for faster access. The dnscache service is enabled by default in WinPE, but sometimes you may need to stop or restart it for various reasons, such as clearing the cache, applying configuration changes, or troubleshooting network issues.

However, stopping or restarting the dnscache service in WinPE is not as straightforward as in Windows. You may encounter errors or limitations when using common tools such as sc.exe or PowerShell commands. In this article, we will show you how to overcome these challenges and successfully stop or restart the dnscache service in WinPE.

The Registry Editor is a graphical tool that allows you to view and modify the Windows registry, which is a database that stores configuration settings and options for the operating system and applications. You can use the Registry Editor to change the startup type of the dnscache service from Automatic to Disabled, which will prevent it from running in WinPE.

To use the Registry Editor, follow these steps:

1. Boot into WinPE and open the Command Prompt by pressing Shift+F10 or clicking the Start button and typing cmd.

2. Type regedit and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.

3. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Dnscache

4. Locate the Start value and double-click it to edit it.

5. Change the value data from 2 (Automatic) to 4 (Disabled) and click OK.

6. Close the Registry Editor and reboot the system.

After rebooting, the dnscache service should be stopped and disabled in WinPE. If you want to enable it again, you can repeat the same steps and change the value data back to 2 (Automatic).

Method 2: Use the Netsh Command

Netsh is a command-line tool that allows you to configure and manage network settings and components. You can use the netsh command to stop or restart the dnscache service in WinPE by using the following syntax:

`netsh interface ip delete dns`

This command will delete all the DNS entries from the cache and stop the dnscache service. To restart the service, you can use the following command:

`netsh interface ip set dns`

This command will set the DNS server address for the interface and start the dnscache service. You can specify the interface name and the DNS server address as parameters, or use the default values if you omit them.

To use the netsh command, follow these steps:

1. Boot into WinPE and open the Command Prompt by pressing Shift+F10 or clicking the Start button and typing cmd.

2. Type netsh interface ip delete dns and press Enter to stop the dnscache service and clear the cache.

3. Type netsh interface ip set dns and press Enter to restart the dnscache service and set the DNS server address.

You can verify the status of the dnscache service by using the following command:

`netsh interface ip show dns`

This command will display the DNS server address and the DNS entries in the cache for the interface.

Conclusion

In this article, we have shown you two methods to stop or restart the dnscache service in WinPE: using the Registry Editor and using the netsh command. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, so you can choose the one that suits your needs and preferences. We hope this article has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.

— : [Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) | Microsoft Docs] : [DNS Client Service – Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs] : [Registry Editor – Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs] : [Netsh Commands for Interface IP | Microsoft Docs]