Can you solve my problem in entering ip's & links in the "hosts" file ?

Question

I have already entered a lot of ip's & links in the localhost in the "hosts" file to block pop-ups like media.fastclick,etc.in Win.XP(C:\WINDOWS\ system32\drivers\etc\host), after opening the "host" file by using the "Notepad" program & it got saved. Now, when I try to add more ip's & links in the "hosts" file it doesn't get saved & another text file is created with the same name. What do I need to do to add more ip's & links in the "hosts" file & save it too ?
Please answer only if you know & are well informed. Pllllllease!!!

Answer 1

Normally the "hosts" file has no extension. It is just "hosts", not "hosts.txt". Notepad will not let you save a file with no extension. It puts a ".txt." on the end by default.

So what you have to do is open your existing "hosts" file, make your changes and additions, and then save it as "hosts.txt". Then simply rename "hosts.txt" to just "hosts" outside of Notepad.

Answer 2

Instead of using Notepad you should use the Edit program in the Command window. Click Start | Run and type cmd in the run box and click Ok. Type "CD\ C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc" (without quotes) and press Enter on the keyboard.

Next type "Edit hosts" and edit the information on the Edit screen. Save it when done. You should also take a look at lmhosts (no extension) to see if this helps as well.

Another utility you can use with these files is nbtstat to reload your data. Type nbtstat ? to see what your parameters are.

The problem with using Notepad is that it adds the .txt extension to files and Windows does not recognize the extension for host and lmhosts files.

Good luck.

Steve