Another Mac OS X 10.2.x DNS Lookup workaround

Yesterday we reported that due to an update to the DNS lookup system in Mac OS X 10.2.2, a number of users have problems resolving URLs. Some readers report that up to half of their browser requests are rejected with the error "The specified server could not be found," and e-mail requests delivering "'Error involving Domain Name System." messages.

We now have an additional workaround for the issue that is working well for a number of readers. Eric DeWitt writes:

"Mac OS X 10.2.x includes the *BSD command 'killall' which is an alternate to the 'kill `cat foo.pid`'. This command sends the designated signal to the process named as the argument. I recommend that your run: sudo killall -HUP lookupd from the Terminal. I do this when I encounter DNS resolution issues and it solves the problem. "

Unfortunately, readers are already reporting that after using the above workaround, the problem returns in anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

Feedback on this issue? Drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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