Microsoft KB Archive/168508

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

NSLOOKUP Error Message: Can't Find Server..Non-existent Domain
Last reviewed: August 4, 1997

Article ID: Q168508

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
 * Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS
When you use Nslookup from a command prompt it produces the following message:

Can't find server name for address "DNS IP address": Non-existent Domain Default servers are not available Default Server: Unknown

CAUSE
This error occurs because Nslookup is attempting to do a reverse lookup to resolve the host name of the default DNS server. When Nslookup initializes, it gets the IP address of the first DNS server listed in the TCP/IP properties of the Network Control Panel.

Once an IP address is obtained, Nslookup does a reverse lookup query to your DNS server to determine the server name associated with the IP address it obtained earlier. If a reverse lookup zone is not present, or there is not a valid PTR record for the DNS server in an existing reverse lookup zone, the aforementioned message will appear when attempting to use Nslookup. This is an informational error message and Nslookup will still function properly.

RESOLUTION
Create a valid reverse lookup zone and add a PTR record for the DNS server using DNS manager.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q162842 TITLE    : DNS with "WINS Reverse Lookup" fails with multiple IP addresses.