How to Change DNS Server IPs in Windows XP?

We really do not expect you read this article at this point of time. Windows XP support was stopped by Microsoft long time back hence you should update to Windows 10 or 11 for better experience. However, if you are still holding on to Windows XP for some reasons, this article explains the step by step process of adding public DNS to your network settings in Windows XP.

Change DNS in Windows XP

Changing the DNS servers address is sometimes necessary to correct the IP related problems like resolving host issue in Google Chrome browser. Using public DNS can help to bypass your ISP servers and load the sites faster due to fast domain resolving time.

Step 1 – Open Network Connection Properties

Go to “Control Panel” and open “Network Connections” option. You can also right click on the network icon in the task bar to open network connections. Select the connection which you are using and right click on the same to access “Properties” as shown in the below picture.

Step 2- Open TCP/IP Properties

• The network connection properties window will open as shown in the picture below and click on the “General” tab.
• Select the item “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click on the “Properties” button.

Step 3 – Changing DNS Server Addresses

• Another window for “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties” will open as shown in the picture below.
• Choose the radio button “Use the following DNS server address” under “General” tab and provide the public DNS server details.
• You can use any of the public DNS servers available in the net. Since all your internet activities will be routed through the DNS servers entered here, only use known and reliable server address and avoid using unknown free server details for security reasons.
• Here we used the IP addresses of Google’s public DNS server details for Preferred DNS server as 8.8.8.8 and Alternate DNS server as 8.8.4.4 as shown in the picture beside.
• Once you entered the server details click “OK” to close the window.

Close all your browser windows and reopen the browser. Now try opening your website which should open faster without showing any messages like “Resolving host” or “Waiting for cache” in status bar. All sites will be loaded comparatively faster than before and you can open the sites properly in all browsers like Edge, Chrome and Firefox.

Learn more on how to change DNS servers in Windows 11 or 10, macOS, iPhone and Android.