HackTrick

Windows 2k/XP
First, open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider



Note the following lines (all hex dwords):
Class = 008 (8) - indicates that TCP/IP is a name service provider, don't change.

LocalPriority = 1f3 (499) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 1f4 (500) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 7d0 (2000) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 7d1 (2001) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS

What we're aiming to do is increase the priority of the last 4 settings,
while keeping their order.
The valid range is from -32768 to +32767 and lower numbers mean higher priority compared to other services.
What we're aiming at is lower numbers without going to extremes, something like what's shown below should work well:

Change the "Priority" lines to:
LocalPriority = 005 (5) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 006 (6) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 007 (7) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 008 (8) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS