xp clock time 1

[bobbiedigital]

hi my clock time on xp keeps on changing, i did some research and found out that you can synchronise the with a windows time server, but my date and time properties doesnt have an internet time setting, is there a way i can get this back??

cheers Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Are you saying there is not an internet time tab appearing in the the clock settings screen? If you are in a Domain your authorized time provider should be your Domain Controller, or the computer that is assigned to be the authorized time provider for the Domain.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307897

For workgroups and stand-alone machines, right-click the taskbar clock, click 'Adjust date/time', click the Internet Time' tab, and choose a time provider.

As for the clock losing time:

. A "fix"

Start, Run, CMD
Enter the following and press Enter after each line
Net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /register
Net start w32time
exit

. Some screensavers can cause this.

 

[bobbiedigital]

Hi bcastner

yes the internet tab is not showing on a stand-alone machine in the clock->adjust date/time. This i suppose is similar to a problem i just had recently with the server time being out of sync with the pc, the advise you gave me for that was good and that solved the problem, but it seems that this pc just seems to lose time by about 15 minutes, a few times everyday. is there a way to get that internet time tab back? anyway ill give the "fix" a go. Thankyou very much for your help.

Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Is this a Dell computer?

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=RA1060115

 

[linney]

Is the appropriate service started, running and on automatic?

Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services, scroll down to "Windows Time",
right-click on it and select "start".

To get further information about any error look in your Event viewer.

Look in the System or Application folder. You can get to the Event Viewer via right click My Computer icon and select Manage.

Any errors logged in the Event Viewer can be expanded by double clicking on the error line.

 

[bobbiedigital]

yes, the windows time service is running, it was already on automatic, and i have reset the service for good measure, the computer is not a dell so i wouldnt know whether those time executable files will work. its been a couple of hours since the reset, so ill keep watch, and ill also check the event log too. Ill keep you updated if you wish.

Thank you verymuch for your help
Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Put my "fix" in your logon script.

 

[cricket]

An application running on a server (such as an accounting package) may have a line of code to synchronise clients(Workstations) with server time.

 

[bobbiedigital]

Hello Bcastner

could you explain to me (just for sake of knowledge), why you would have to put the "dix" into the logon script?, wouldnt windows services restart automatically everytime that the computer is booted?

Cheers Bobbie

 

[bobbiedigital]

sorry i meant "fix"

Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Because I want it to unregister (yes, twice) and then re-register as well.
This re-registration only occurs when the service is stopped.

You could copy/paste the commands above in a .cmd file, called something like time.cmd, and place it in the Startup program folder for All Users as well.

You might want to specify an sntp server if you do not have an Internet time tab and are a stand-alone non-Domain workstation. This only has to be done once (unless you change the server):

http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq/service/pdf/win2000xp.pdf

I will give you the abstract:

1. Pick a time server
Here is a listing of timeservers from NIST:

http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq/service/time-servers.html

You can Google "Internet Time Servers" to find many resources around the world.

2. Configure the XP registry entries for the time server:
Start, Run, CMD
net time /setsntp:time server

3. Update the time:
net stop w32time
net start w32time

4. Set the interval for time syncronization

Once you have an sntp server defined, you should set the registry values in XP for the frequency at which the time is updated. Doug Knox makes this easy:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_inet_time.htm

Another alternative is to use a client other than the native XP W32Time. There are many freeware and commercial alternatives, Google for them. The US Government National Institutes of Standards and Technology offers a free time client for Windows which is quite good: ftp://time.nist.gov/pub/daytime/nistime-32bit.exe It allows you to select from various time servers, and adjust the update interval.

 

[linney]

Does the Internet Time tab become visible in Safe Mode?

 

[bobbiedigital]

This problem is similar to my last one with the users not being able to logon because of the time difference on the server, what happens if you dont know the Primary DC and set the sntp server on a standalone pc, would you have to do that for all pc's on the domain, that is if you dont know the PDC?

 

[bobbiedigital]

Except with this problem, users have no problem logging on, if left untouched will it eventually get to that stage?

Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

In a Domain it is generally a mistake to have workstations find a time source other than the authoratitive time source for the Domain itself.

Abstracts for several sources:

Fixing timesync is different according to the machine type...

. If it's a Member Server, standard Domain Controller (not a PDCEmulator) or standard workstation then behave as if its a member server (below)

. If it's a PDCEmulator then make sure you allow port 123 TCP/UDP outbound on your firewall and configure the external microsoft time service by entering this at the command line
NET TIME /SETSNTP:time.windows.com (or other external time server(s), as you can provide a list)

. If it's a workstation, member server or a standard Domain Controller:

Members of the Active Directory sync with their local DC (local as in local AD site). The DCs then sync with the PDCEmulator, so the PDCE is the authoratative time server unless manually specified otherwise.

Diagnosis of timesync errors is difficult, but do not be tempted to use NET TIME /SETSNTP: on all machines in the domain; as it specifically overrides the natural internal operation of the time service within Active Directory.

The commands used below are written for Windows 2003 and Windows XP. There are some equivalents for windows 2000: use W32tm /? or W32Time /? from the command line to look for alternatives on older OSs. In Win2k usually a hypen is used instead of "/" for parameters.

. Use NET TIME /SETSNTP:
to clear any entry and return to the default settings

. Use NET TIME /SET /YES
to synch NOW with your authenticating DC and begin the diagnosis:

. Start by verifying your domain is synching AD by using REPLMON.EXE in the support tools pack on the Windows installation CD.

. If this is OK then run this from the command line:
W32TM /monitor
to ensure that each member server/workstation is actually pointing to a DC.

If this is OK then run this from the command line:
W32TM /resync /rediscover
followed by:
W32TM /resync /nowait

and check the system eventlog for W32TIME errors. This process does a full reset and recheck of the time system as it relates to one member machine on your AD.

In a complicated Domain heirarchy, the time likely is not identical across the Domain. Timesync works in an interesting way on member servers and workstations:

. If the local clock time of the time client is behind the current time received from the time server, W32Time will change the local clock time immediately.

. If the local clock time of the time client is more than three minutes ahead of the time on the time server, W32Time will change the local clock time immediately.

. If the local clock time of the time client is less than three minutes ahead of the time on the server, W32Time will quarter or halve the clock frequency for long enough to bring the clocks into sync. If the client is less that 15 seconds ahead, it will halve the frequency; otherwise, it will quarter the frequency. The amount of time the clock spends running at an unusual frequency depends on the size of the offset that is being corrected.

. For the time authority in a Domain, W32Time will periodically check its local time with the current time by connecting to the time source. This process starts as soon as the service turns on during system start-up. W32Time attempts synchronization every 45 minutes until the clocks have successfully synchronized three times. When the clocks are correctly synchronized, W32Time then synchronizes at eight-hour intervals, unless there is a failure to obtain a timestamp, or a validation failure. If there is a failure, the process starts over from the beginning.

If the workstation or member server is really wrong on the time, use the DUMPFSMOS tool to find the PDCE:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/dumpfsmos-o.asp

Reset the time on the PDCE as discussed above, then force a time sync on the workstations (net time /set /yes).
When you run NET TIME without the /domain option, the workstation will iterate through the list of time sources on the network, and contact the first one encountered. By default on an NT or 2000 network, only the PDC is a time source. However, if Domain Time Server is installed on any machine, that machine also becomes a time source. Notice that the NET TIME client won't use the nearest time source -- it will use the first one found in the browser list.

 

[bobbiedigital]

Thank you very much Bcastner, your help has been very useful, i really appreciate you going to the effort of explaining all this to me.

Regards
Bobbie