A question about the host file


  1. Posts : 269
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #1

    A question about the host file


    So I am chasing another problem down when I came across this and I wanted some advice. My systems are Windows 7 64-bit, Home and Pro. In the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc folder there is the file called "hosts". Now on all my other systems there is just the one file, but my system seems to have some extra ones. Here is what I have

    hosts (last modified with today's date)
    hosts_bak_360 (last modified with 11-25-2014)
    hosts_bak_750 (last modified with 2-5-2015)

    I am wondering if this is OK or if it OK to delete the 360 and 750 since those have older dates; leaving the most current one. I did open them using the Notepad, all look to have the same information and IP's. So just wondering. Thanks
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,049
    Windows 7 Pro 32
       #2

    The "bak" files appear to be backups so they should be ok to delete. But why do you have them I wonder. Maybe you have some program installed that has modified the hosts file and created the bak files. If so, it would probably only create a backup when it actually modifies the original hosts file, so I would do a non-visual comparison first to verify if they're identical.

    Start a command prompt(cmd.exe) and change the current directory with this command:
    cd C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

    Then do a FC(File Compare), example:
    fc hosts hosts_bak_360
      My Computer


 

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