DNS service crashing in Windows 10 with large HOSTS file












0














I don't get why my Android device handles a large hosts file just fine, but if I try to use a similarly-sized file in Windows 10, the DNS Service starts using a massive amount of CPU and slows everything to a crawl. It gets so bad the system must be rebooted into safe mode just so the hosts file can be deleted.



I've heard of this problem in earlier versions of Windows, but I have fully updated Windows 10.



Any help would be appreciated.










share|improve this question


















  • 1




    How big, is “large?”
    – Appleoddity
    Dec 19 '18 at 4:28










  • ~5 - 6 MB or so...
    – Jesse
    Dec 19 '18 at 5:18












  • Why are you using such a large hosts file?
    – DavidPostill
    Dec 19 '18 at 13:35










  • Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
    – shawn
    Dec 23 '18 at 10:25










  • Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
    – Jesse
    Dec 29 '18 at 20:32
















0














I don't get why my Android device handles a large hosts file just fine, but if I try to use a similarly-sized file in Windows 10, the DNS Service starts using a massive amount of CPU and slows everything to a crawl. It gets so bad the system must be rebooted into safe mode just so the hosts file can be deleted.



I've heard of this problem in earlier versions of Windows, but I have fully updated Windows 10.



Any help would be appreciated.










share|improve this question


















  • 1




    How big, is “large?”
    – Appleoddity
    Dec 19 '18 at 4:28










  • ~5 - 6 MB or so...
    – Jesse
    Dec 19 '18 at 5:18












  • Why are you using such a large hosts file?
    – DavidPostill
    Dec 19 '18 at 13:35










  • Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
    – shawn
    Dec 23 '18 at 10:25










  • Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
    – Jesse
    Dec 29 '18 at 20:32














0












0








0







I don't get why my Android device handles a large hosts file just fine, but if I try to use a similarly-sized file in Windows 10, the DNS Service starts using a massive amount of CPU and slows everything to a crawl. It gets so bad the system must be rebooted into safe mode just so the hosts file can be deleted.



I've heard of this problem in earlier versions of Windows, but I have fully updated Windows 10.



Any help would be appreciated.










share|improve this question













I don't get why my Android device handles a large hosts file just fine, but if I try to use a similarly-sized file in Windows 10, the DNS Service starts using a massive amount of CPU and slows everything to a crawl. It gets so bad the system must be rebooted into safe mode just so the hosts file can be deleted.



I've heard of this problem in earlier versions of Windows, but I have fully updated Windows 10.



Any help would be appreciated.







networking windows-10 dns hosts-file






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked Dec 19 '18 at 2:56









Jesse

215




215








  • 1




    How big, is “large?”
    – Appleoddity
    Dec 19 '18 at 4:28










  • ~5 - 6 MB or so...
    – Jesse
    Dec 19 '18 at 5:18












  • Why are you using such a large hosts file?
    – DavidPostill
    Dec 19 '18 at 13:35










  • Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
    – shawn
    Dec 23 '18 at 10:25










  • Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
    – Jesse
    Dec 29 '18 at 20:32














  • 1




    How big, is “large?”
    – Appleoddity
    Dec 19 '18 at 4:28










  • ~5 - 6 MB or so...
    – Jesse
    Dec 19 '18 at 5:18












  • Why are you using such a large hosts file?
    – DavidPostill
    Dec 19 '18 at 13:35










  • Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
    – shawn
    Dec 23 '18 at 10:25










  • Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
    – Jesse
    Dec 29 '18 at 20:32








1




1




How big, is “large?”
– Appleoddity
Dec 19 '18 at 4:28




How big, is “large?”
– Appleoddity
Dec 19 '18 at 4:28












~5 - 6 MB or so...
– Jesse
Dec 19 '18 at 5:18






~5 - 6 MB or so...
– Jesse
Dec 19 '18 at 5:18














Why are you using such a large hosts file?
– DavidPostill
Dec 19 '18 at 13:35




Why are you using such a large hosts file?
– DavidPostill
Dec 19 '18 at 13:35












Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
– shawn
Dec 23 '18 at 10:25




Assuming you're using it for ad-blocking, consider setting up a personal DNS server instead. Technitium DNS Server or MaraDNS can do this for you.
– shawn
Dec 23 '18 at 10:25












Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
– Jesse
Dec 29 '18 at 20:32




Thanks for the suggestion. My VPN application connects to their private DNS that is supposed to block ads and trackers, but there's no way I know of to see what or how much they are blocking. I suppose maybe there is a way to monitor the traffic on the VPN's virtual adapter to see what is getting through, but I'm not an expert in that.
– Jesse
Dec 29 '18 at 20:32















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