202565 - Changes to Hosts file (local DNS) not recognized until Mozilla is shutdown/restarted

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 192798

(Core :: Networking, defect)

Description

[Scott Brawner]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.3; MultiZilla v1.4.0.3f) Gecko/20030312
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.3; MultiZilla v1.4.0.3f) Gecko/20030312

I'm running Mozilla 1.3 on a Windows XP machine at home and a Windows 2000
machine at work. Both of these machines have Opera 7.03 installed as well. I
maintain a pretty lengthy hosts file on my PC with the domains of the web sites
I frequent. Something I've noticed about these two browsers is how they react
differently to changes in my hosts file when they are open. 
Let's say I have Mozilla open but can't get to a site because the web site has
recently changed their IP address and my hosts file is not up to date. I run
FastNet99 (great freeware program) to update the hosts file with the proper IP
address (while Mozilla is running) and resave the hosts file. I then try to
access the site again in Mozilla with no luck. Only after I shut down Mozilla
completely (Quick Launch and all) and restart it does it recognize the updated
hosts file contents.

With Opera 6/7, I can update the hosts file while the browser is running, save
it, enter the url again and get right to the site without having to close and
re-open the browser.

This happens when I update the hosts file manually in Notepad as well so I know
it is not related to FastNet99. This has been the case since I started using
Mozilla at v1.01. Is this a bug or is it by design?

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create an entry for a domain (ex. yahoo.com) in your hosts file pointing to
an invallid IP address and save the file.
2. Open Mozilla and attempt to reach the domain.
3. While Mozilla is still running open the hosts file and edit it to point to
the correct IP address. Save the file.
4. Attempt to access the domain again.
5. Close Mozilla completely, including Quick Launch.
6. Restart Mozilla
7. Attempt to access the domain again.

Actual Results:  
After step #4 I can not access the domain.
After step #7 I can access the domain.

Expected Results:  
After step #4 I should be able to access the domain instead of being required to
completely restart the browser. 

As I mentioned above Opera does not have this problem. I can update the hosts
file with the browser open and it immediately recognizes the new IP address in
the hosts file and takes me directly to the site. (I have not tested to see what
IE's behavior is in this matter.)

Comment 1

[Christian :Biesinger (don't email me, ping me on IRC)]

this is a duplicate of bug 162871 I think... but I seem to remember a better
fitting bug...

Comment 2

[Frank Wein [:mcsmurf]]

Dupe of Bug 188353 or Bug 167832 (well, not the same symptoms, but the same
cause i think). 

Comment 3

[Felix Miata]

On #mozilla timeless told me to file hosts file bug like this, which promptly
got duped to this 192798.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 192798 ***

Comment 4

[Frank Wein [:mcsmurf]]

Well, not really (or is here a need to go online/offline)...there are better
bugs to dupe to.

Comment 5

[benc]

If you add new hostnames in /etc/hosts, do they take effect immediately?

If so, then this is a "DNS cache has locked up your entries" problem, which
would lead to two problems:

1- Maybe we should be looking at /etc/hosts everytime. DNS cache precludes that,
which is part of the debate in bug

2- The "reset button is broken", which you are currently duped to.