Hosts file in Windows 7 through Mac os X Parallels is being ignored

Question

I'm using Mac os X with Parallels.

I am trying to set up a hosts file in windows.

The Hosts file in windows is ignoring my every attempt to update it.

127.0.0.1  www.altavista.com
google.com test
10.37.129.2   localhost

Any of these will not work when I try and ping test, localhost, or www.altavista.com

I have tried the following :

Deleting Hosts file, and recreating the file with "Edit as Administrator" while opening Notepad.

Clearing my cache, resetting my router, and rebooting Windows.

My host file is located in C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

How is this being ignored?

Answer 1

Alright, so in Windows 7, everytime I saved the file, even though there was explicitly no extension set, it still set one, and wouldn't tell me.

So I went into Dos and did this :

rename hosts.txt hosts

Then make sure you reboot your Virtual Host or Windows .