After a recent rebuild, a Windows Server 2022 virtual machine can no longer reach the corporate ticketing system by its FQDN (helpdesk.corp.local). From the affected server, nslookup for the name returns the correct IPv4 address from the corporate DNS server, yet ping helpdesk.corp.local shows 127.0.0.1 and the browser fails to load the site. Other servers resolve and access the site normally, and no VLAN or firewall changes were made. Which action is MOST likely to restore proper name resolution on this server?
Create a static A record for helpdesk.corp.local in the forward lookup zone on the DNS servers.
Open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts, remove the obsolete mapping for helpdesk.corp.local, then run ipconfig /flushdns.
Enable outbound UDP/TCP port 53 in Windows Defender Firewall on the server.
Clear the ARP cache with arp -d * to eliminate stale layer-2 address entries.
Because Windows checks the local hosts file before querying DNS, an outdated or incorrect entry there can override the DNS answer. The ping command is using 127.0.0.1, indicating that an old hosts-file mapping is forcing the name to resolve locally. Removing the stale line (or correcting it) and flushing the DNS client cache will allow the server to use the authoritative DNS response. Adding a new DNS record, clearing the ARP cache, or opening firewall ports would not solve a hosts-file override.
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