If I try to access `localhost` or `127.0.0.1` or even my local IP address `192.168.1.14` the browser is unable to resolve this!? (Why it's even trying to resolve it I don't know - I didn't think it would need to?)

The browser is taking time to try and resolve this and eventually fails by attempting `http://www.localhost/` (in the case of `localhost`).

Tried all browsers... Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari.

This *was* working OK! I have just installed XAMPP (Apache, MySQL, PHP, ...) and after installing I could navigate to `localhost` to see the default XAMPP welcome page.

`localhost` stopped working first, whilst I could still navigate to `127.0.0.1`. But now neither of these work (as if it took time for caches to clear?!). And neither does `192.168.1.14` (my local IP).

Bizarrely I can still navigate to `localhost/index.html`, `localhost/xampp`, `localhost/phpmyadmin`, etc. But not the bare `localhost`. (Although I'm convinced I lost access to all bar `localhost/phpmyadmin` at one point!?). In the same way I can access `http://192.168.1.14/index.php` and `192.168.1.14/xampp/`, but not `192.168.1.14`. 

The webserver appears to be working OK. I can navigate to a local site I have setup in a VirtualHost and that works OK (just PHP, no DB).

`'ipconfig /flushdns` - reports that it was successfull, but no change.

Turning off the webserver makes no difference. (Without the webserver running it should immediately fail, but instead it still tries to *resolve* it.)

Turned off Anti-Virus and Windows Firewall - no difference.

Windows HOSTS file previously did not have an entry for `localhost` (even when it worked OK). I have added an entry for `localhost`, but this makes no difference. Like I mentioned above, even using `127.0.0.1` directly does not work! The IPv6 (`::1`) entry is commented out.

```
127.0.0.1 localhost

```

`ping localhost` works! And appears to correctly ping my local computer (the computer name is reported). So, why does this work, and nothing else?

---

I can create a VirtualHost with `ServerName mylocalhost` and add an approprite entry in my Windows HOSTS file to point to `127.0.0.1` ie. `127.0.0.1 mylocalhost` and this works OK! (This displays the "Welcome to XAMPP..." homepage)

The default document (ie. `DirectoryIndex`) is setup OK.

---

This other question (from 3 years ago!) appears to have the same problem, but no good answers:  

[Cannot find local host via browser - can ping localhost and 127.0.0.1 ok](https://superuser.com/questions/245816/cannot-find-local-host-via-browser-can-ping-localhost-and-127-0-0-1-ok)

In fact I have found numerous other references to `localhost` not working, but no answers. Some of these appear to be related to IPv6 conflicts, but I don't think that is the case here.