Host Resolution Priority Tweak
host name resolution priority
The tweak desribed below helps boost priority for DNS & hostname resolution in general. What this means is, it helps web pages load faster, and has negligible effect on downloads (not counting the couple of ms gain with the host resolution at connect-time).
Applying this tweak assumes some proficiency in editing the Windows Registry using Regedit (Start > Run > type: regedit). As always, backup your Registry before making any changes so you can revert to the previous state if you don't like the results.
Note: The below host name resolution tweak can also be used for changing name-resoluton order besides priority.
Windows 2k/XP
First, open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipServiceProvider
it should look something like the image to the left.
Note the following lines (all hex dwords):
Class = 008 (8) - indicates that TCP/IP is a name service provider, don't change.
LocalPriority = 1f3 (499) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 1f4 (500) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 7d0 (2000) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 7d1 (2001) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS
What we're aiming to do is increase the priority of the last 4 settings, while keeping their order. The valid range is from -32768 to +32767 and lower numbers mean higher priority compared to other services. What we're aiming at is lower numbers without going to extremes, something like what's shown below should work well:
Change the "Priority" lines to:
LocalPriority = 005 (5) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 006 (6) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 007 (7) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 008 (8) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS
As usual, reboot for changes to take effect.
Windows 9x/ME
The tweak is essentialy the same as in Windows 2000/XP, just the location in the Registry is slightly different. For a more detailed description see the Windows 2000/XP section above.
Open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesVxDMSTCPServiceProvider
You should see the following settings:
Class=hex:08,00,00,00
LocalPriority=hex:f3,01,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:f4,01,00,00
DnsPriority=hex:d0,07,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex:d1,07,00,00
The "priority" lines should be changed to:
LocalPriority=hex:05,00,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:06,00,00,00
DnsPriority=hex:07,00,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex:08,00,00,00
Reboot for changes to take effect.
