2008R2: MX records fail to resolve. A Records can be resolved. No external DNS server

Hi all,

I have found similar problems mentioned on this site, but nothing resolved my issue.

While using nslookup, I am able to resolve A records that are not local. The DNS server is configured to use root hints for any external domains.

When using nslookup for MX records, I receive the following:

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx yahoo.com
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

*** localhost can't find yahoo.com: Server failed

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to localhost timed-out

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to localhost timed-out

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to localhost timed-out

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

*** localhost can't find microsoft.com: Server failed

If I point nslookup to a specific external DNS server (8.8.8.8 or a.root-servers.net) it works. This resolves the issue until the cache is cleared.

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com 8.8.8.8
Server:  google-public-dns-a.google.com
Address:  8.8.8.8

Non-authoritative answer:
microsoft.com   MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = microsoft-com.mail.protecti
on.outlook.com

OR

C:\Windows\system32>nslookup -q=mx microsoft.com a.root-servers.net
Server:  a.root-servers.net
Address:  198.41.0.4

Non-authoritative answer:
microsoft.com   MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = microsoft-com.mail.protecti
on.outlook.com

Any help is greatly appreciated.

-AD