Windows clock, located in the lower right corner of the screen on the taskbar next to the “ ” button, language bar, other elements and open by clicking on them with the left button. In order for the system clock to show accurately, it is necessary.

Synchronization occurs with the Internet server and your PC's time is automatically updated. By default, updates occur every 7 days while the Internet is connected. In the article we will look at how to enable synchronization, how to speed up time updating with the server, and what program you can use.

How to enable and configure time synchronization on Windows 7, 8

Note: Internet time synchronization is enabled by default in Windows.

To get started, you will need to select small or large icons in the viewing area. Next in the list, click “date and time”.

This will open the date and time options. You can also call them by left-clicking in the date and time display area and select the corresponding link (shown in the screenshot).

In the window, go to the “Internet time” section; here you can see information about the current synchronization with the name of the server (if it is enabled). By default, Internet synchronization is performed with a Microsoft server called time.windows.com. To change settings, click “change settings” and “yes” (if User Account Control is enabled).

In the Internet time settings, the option “ synchronize with time server" Select one of the pre-installed servers or define your own (the list of servers can be found here http://support.microsoft.com/ru-ru/kb/262680). Next, click “update now” to synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet. If synchronization is successful, you will see a notification in the same window.

To synchronize time via the Internet, you can use various utilities such as:

  1. Atomic Clock Sync
  2. NetTime
  3. SP TimeSync
  4. Other

All aspects of synchronization are configured through the programs, and the update request interval is reduced. Standard methods You can also synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet faster and more often, read on to find out how to do this.

How to reduce the time update interval from the Internet

There may be a situation where the time is constantly lost due to problems with the system clock, even if you have time synchronization enabled on your computer. The solution to the problem is editing NTP client to speed up the update period. Depending on the OS version you will need:

In the registry, go to the NtpClient section (the full path is shown in the picture below). IN right side editor, double-click on the SpecialPollInterval parameter. Next, in the number system area, select "decimal" and the value field will contain the number 604800, which represents 7 days in seconds.

For example, if you want to synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet every day, then enter the value 86400, which is calculated using the formula 60 seconds * 60 minutes * 24 hours * 1 day. Set your number of seconds and click OK.

Note: Do not set the value less than 14400 seconds (4 hours), otherwise your computer's IP address may be blocked by the time server.

You can also speed up syncing manually, but getting to the "update now" button is a lot of steps. In this case, you can use cmd. To do this, you need to , 8 as administrator, and then enter the command below and press enter.

Note: the command will work if time synchronization via the Internet is enabled.

To speed up the process further, copy the synchronization command into it. Next, place the file on your desktop or pin it to the taskbar and run it as administrator.

Preventing problems during synchronization

It is not always possible to set the exact time through synchronization with the Internet. You may encounter the following problems and solutions:

  1. Make sure that the time zone, date and time are manually set correctly on your computer, otherwise you will have trouble trying to synchronize your computer clock with an Internet time server.
  2. Windows gets its initial time from the BIOS, so make sure the time and date are set correctly in the CMOS BIOS.
  3. Check the CMOS battery for motherboard. If it is weak, then your clock may run slower, losing or resetting time. If so, then you simply need to replace the CMOS battery.
  4. If your computer does not keep accurate time even after enabling synchronization and changing time servers, read above about changing the update interval.

As you can see, synchronize time on your computer with the Internet in Windows 7, 8 for accurate display is not difficult. Everything can be done using standard Windows steps. The programs will only reduce the cost of your time, for example, they will reduce the synchronization time in two clicks.

Synchronizing the system clock with a reliable server is quite important for correct Windows operation and some programs. It's not just about convenience and confidence that your computer is 100% likely to show the correct time. Some software, working with the Internet, may not function entirely correctly if the system time is in a hurry or behind. Browser logs may become confused, and their individual parts will begin to overlap one another. To prevent such incidents, there is time synchronization with the server via the Internet.

By default, synchronization with the server is always disabled. The clock is set when Windows installation, after which no attention is paid to her. However, after a few months, you may notice that time has begun to lag a little. Such problems can arise as a result of system failures, power outages, and even virus attacks.

If the user turns on the clock synchronization mode via the Internet, the server will periodically check for deviations and automatically correct them. Before activating this service, it is recommended to check the correctness of the specified time zone - if the information is incorrect, the time may be set inaccurately, causing various malfunctions in the operation of network programs.

How to enable or disable the feature

Changing date and time configurations is done in a special section in the Control Panel. To get to the desired page, follow the step-by-step instructions:


If you want to disable this function, you will just need to uncheck the previously checked box in the options menu.

By Windows default can synchronize computer time with an accurate clock via the Internet. If local network computers are connected to a domain, then the exact time is taken from the domain controller, and the domain controller takes the exact time from the Internet.

The problem of time synchronization on local network computers arises when there is no Internet at all or it is turned off for ideological reasons. In the latter case, you can allow the passage of the NTP protocol (port 123 UDP) for all devices on the local network on the router/firewall.

In the worst case, you can force all computers on the local network to synchronize time with one computer, let's call it a local time server.

Setting up a local time server

Absolutely any computer running Windows can be a local time server; you just need to tweak the registry a little. Open the registry editor (regedit), follow the path HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer and set the parameter value Enabled equal 1 .

Open the command line and restart the Windows service with the command

If you are too lazy to tinker with the command line, you can simply restart your computer.

Our server is ready.

Where you will get time for the server is your business: whether through the Internet, or by hand.

Setting up time synchronization on computers

To simply take and synchronize the time with an exact time server, you just need to type on the command line:

net time\\time_server_computer_name /set

Open the command line and write the following there:

w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:192.168.1.1

Here we indicate the exact time servers of our local network. There may be several of them, then we list everything separated by commas without a space.

Then we give the command

w32tm /config /update

After that, among all the exact time servers, we indicate the priority one. In our example there is only one, so we write it:

net time /setsntp:192.168.1.1

Restart the Windows Time service

net stop w32time && net start w32time

And synchronize

w32tm/resync

After these manipulations, the computer itself will synchronize the time with the server. The issue is resolved!

Andriy Karashchuk

To synchronize time in Windows, you can use a built-in system service called Windows Time Service.

Specifying a time server for synchronization:

The first thing you need to do is configure this service. In its settings, you must specify an NTP server (NTP - Network Time Protocol) or a list of time servers that will be used for synchronization. You can do this from the command console (cmd.exe) with the following command:

net time /setsntp:ntp.site

In the /setsntp key, after the colon, the server or list of time servers is indicated. You can specify servers either by name (see the example above) or by IP address. If you specify a list of several servers, then you need to enclose this list in quotes, separating the servers in the list with spaces. Example:

net time /setsntp:"1.1.1.1 2.2.2.2"

When specifying a list of several servers, synchronization will be performed on the first server in the list; if this server turns out to be unavailable, then the second one, etc.

Console command

net time /querysntp


displays the current list of servers that are installed for time synchronization. Run this command in the Shell and verify that the time server (or list of servers) is specified correctly.

It is enough to configure the time service once; the configured parameters of this service are saved in the system registry and are used for all subsequent time synchronizations. Therefore, there is no need to re-specify the NTP server and other parameters of the Windows time service before each time synchronization.

Starting the Time Service

Once a server (list of servers) for clock synchronization has been specified, you can start the time service itself so that it automatically periodically synchronizes the system clock with the specified server.

The time service can be started manually, for example, with the command from the Shell:

net start w32time

Or run it through the service management snap-in (Win+R --> services.msc). It is also better to configure through the service management snap-in automatic start this service (Startup type: Auto). This is necessary so that you don’t have to start the time service manually every time, i.e. so that every time the system boots, this service automatically starts and is always running for regular time synchronization.

By default, time synchronization occurs when the time service starts, and then every 45 minutes. After three successful synchronizations, further synchronization is performed every 8 hours. The synchronization frequency can be changed if desired.

Note 1: Some operations related to clock synchronization and the time service (in particular, its configuration) can be performed using the built-in system console utility w32tm.exe. For example, the command (in the console) w32tm -period sets the frequency of clock synchronization, and the w32tm -once command performs a one-time synchronization of the system clock with the time server (the time service may not be running, but the server must already be specified in its settings time for synchronization). For more detailed information on the w32tm utility, see (in the console): w32tm /?

Although a computer is a precision machine, its clock (like any other) can be slow or fast. To prevent such incidents, time synchronization using the Windows Time service is necessary.

According to a given schedule, the OS checks the clock with the server specified in the settings. If the values ​​are not equal, the system adjusts the indicators. Initially, the configuration already contains several addresses.

How to synchronize time on a computer

For one-time synchronization, you need to do the following: Left click on the Windows clock.

The "Change date and time settings" button will open the settings window. Next, you need to go to the “Internet Time” tab. It will display the server address specified in the settings, and last date synchronization


By clicking on "Change settings", you can update the time.

Automation function

To synchronize your computer's time with the Internet automatically, just check the only box in the last window. If it is impossible to connect to the north or an error occurs when updating the time, then you can select one of the additional servers, fortunately the OS provides a choice of as many as 5, or find and enter it in the “server” line.

Be careful, the last selected server will remain in the default settings, with it operating system and will automatically synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet.

Command Line Tools

It is not always convenient to use graphical system configuration tools. For example, if the window is overloaded with text: the eyes try to find the right button, but everything merges into one monotonous image. And entering a couple of commands is faster than frequently moving the mouse cursor from one corner of the window to another.

To synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet using command line, open the Start menu and select Run, or simply press Win+R on your keyboard. In the line of the window that opens, write cmd, and then press Enter. This will take you to the command line, the following command will update the time on the local computer with the server installed by default:

  • w32tm/resync.


To configure the server that the system will use to synchronize time between local computer with the Internet, run the commands:

  • w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:[server for synchronization] /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes (this command sets the server whose time will be used for updates);
  • w32tm /config /update (message to the time service that the settings have changed);
  • net stop w32time && net start w32time (service restart).

- is it too difficult?

Windows is an OS whose functionality can be extended additional applications. If you experience difficulties setting up the time update, then you can use the simplest option - download a program that will take many steps on its own and require minimal intervention. Moreover, such programs allow you to synchronize time with greater accuracy than standard means systems. Often they can take into account delays in receiving and sending packets and obtain server addresses from lists on the Internet.

Undocumented settings

By default, the period with which Windows, after setting it up, will synchronize the time on the computer with the Internet is a week. Sometimes this interval needs to be reduced, but the built-in tools do not allow the necessary configuration. The registry will help.


To launch the registry, type regedit in the Run window and press Enter. Go to the HKEYLM branch, in it you need to expand the SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient directory. Find the SpecialPollInterval parameter. It will already contain the value 604800. It is in this number of seconds that one week passes. If you change this number to 3600, the synchronization time will be one hour.

It is not recommended to enter values ​​less than an hour and more than a day in this column. Small values ​​will significantly increase Internet traffic. In addition, if you try to synchronize the time every few seconds, the server will block your IP. Larger values ​​will not achieve maximum system clock accuracy. After making the changes, enter the characters net stop w32time && net start w32time into the command line.

The local network

If you have several computers at home or in an office connected via a local network, you can use one as an accurate time server. Synchronization with the time of a PC connected to a local network is carried out in the same way as with servers on the Internet. But first you will have to run an NTP server on the computer, whose time will be used by other network participants.

To do this, open the registry and edit the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer section. In it, the Enabled key needs to be set to 1, then restart Windows service time from the command line by typing net stop w32time, and after execution, net start w32time.

Remember that the PC is now used by other network users as a reference, do not forget to check its performance from time to time. You can check whether the server is turned on with the w32tm /query /configuration command. An Enabled value of 1 indicates that everything is fine with the server.

Don’t forget to synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet, because now if the clock runs ahead or is too slow on it, this will affect all users.

In fact, synchronizing time in Windows 7 is very simple. Now you can see this for yourself.

The first thing you will need is access to the Internet. If you are already online, then just follow a few steps.

Click on the clock located in the system tray.

A window will appear "Date and time" with three tabs. You need to go to the tab "Time on the Internet."(By the way, the word “Internet” is written with a small letter).

Which server to synchronize time with?

So, you have switched to the “Internet Time” tab. Most users have their computer set by default to automatically synchronize with the time.windows.com server.

You can specify another server, to do this, click on the button "Change settings."

In the window that appears, you can click on the button "Update Now" to check the Microsoft time server.

Or select another time server from the drop-down list.

On my computer, the time was not updated automatically because ESET ENDPOINT ANTIVIRUS, bundled with the firewall, is in training mode. So I clicked on the button and created a rule to allow time synchronization. Now the time will synchronize automatically.

Gajus/Shutterstock

What does setting the date and time look like in Windows 10

How to make time synchronize more often

By default, the automatic time synchronization process in Windows occurs once a week. If you need to update more often, you need to make changes to system registry.

  1. Click on the Start menu button.
  2. Open the Run window.
  3. At the command line, type regedit and click "OK".
  4. Go to this registry hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SYSTEM → ControlSet001 → Services → W32Time → TimeProviders → NtpClient

Parameter SpecialPollInterval contains the value 604800. This is the number of seconds in one week.

If you want to synchronize your watch daily, then change to corresponding value. It is calculated as follows: 24×60×60 = 86400 seconds.

That's all. Now your computer will always have the exact time.

Date: 2013-05-31

This article will talk about time synchronization in Windows XP. In Windows XP it is possible to set the period time synchronization systems with Internet time via NTP (Network Time Protocol). In addition, I will add that not only Windows XP has this ability, but also all operating systems from the Windows family that came out later.

It is possible to change the synchronization period through the Windows XP registry in the branch

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Services/W32Time/TimeProviders/NTPClient

The value of the synchronization period is determined by the SpecialPollInterval parameter. By default, this parameter is set to 3600 in decimal notation. This parameter is specified in seconds.

Suppose there is a need to set the synchronization period to 1 day or 24 hours. The arithmetic of calculating the required value is simple here.

1 minute = 60 seconds 1 hour = 60 minutes Number of seconds in 1 hour = 60 seconds * 60 minutes = 3600 seconds Number of seconds in 24 hours = 3600 seconds * 24 hours = 86400 seconds

Parameter value SpecialPollInterval can be specified both in decimal and hexadecimal. Interval SpecialPollInterval at 24 hours in hexadecimal number system is equal to 15180. So, we set the parameter SpecialPollInterval calculated value of the 24 hour interval.

In order not to tinker with the registry and not to edit these values ​​manually every time, it will be easier to do this once and then export this registry branch and edit it manually, leaving only the parameter with the value SpecialPollInterval. As a result, you should get something like this. Or, if you automate even more, you can create and subsequently launch something like this.

To check the functionality of the above, go to “Start” - “Control Panel”. In the menu that opens, you need to switch to the classic view. Select the “Date and Time” menu. A window called “Properties: Date and Time” will open. At the top we find a tab called “Internet Time” and go to it. If the elements of the tab are not active, then to activate, check the box “Synchronize with an Internet time server.” In the “Server” field, select one of several servers with which time will be synchronized.

As servers time synchronization With the Internet, by default there are already standard servers time.windows.com and time.nist.gov. Moreover, in the “Server” field the server is displayed last sync time with which it was successful. This server is remembered by the system automatically.

After clicking on the “Update Now” button, time synchronization should occur and below the message “Time has been successfully synchronized with SERVER NAME” and even lower “Next synchronization execution: TOMORROW DAY.MONTH.YEAR in HOURS.MINUTES” will be displayed.

If the message displays “Error synchronizing with SERVER NAME,” then you should check your Internet connection; the connection may be lost. If the Internet connection exists, you should try again, and if the result is the same, then in the “Server” field you need to try changing the server to another and try again.

If during the update the result is again with an error, then most likely the problem is in the antivirus, or rather in its firewall (firewall), which blocks the port through which the PC connects to the NTP server. The standard Windows firewall (Firewall) does not block these ports, unless of course you force it to do so.

So, to make sure that the antivirus is blocking or not blocking the connection to the NTP server, there are 2 solutions to this dilemma:

1. If you are a pro in setting up your antivirus software, then you can check firewall antivirus and configure filtering in it.

2. If your antivirus software settings allow, then disable the firewall in it for a while. If for some reason this cannot be done, then you can try to temporarily suspend the operation of the antivirus itself and check the time synchronization with the Internet. The most important thing after checking is not to forget to turn on what you turned off.

Add a new NTP server time synchronization with the Internet it is possible through the same Windows registry. Moreover, this can be done even without access to the Internet. Synchronization server values ​​are stored in the section

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/DateTime/Servers

To add a server, you need to create a string parameter (type REG_SZ) with the following sequence number in this registry branch and enter the name of the NTP server in the value of the new created parameter.

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To obtain information about the exact time and perform synchronization manually, use the services of one of the so-called Daytime servers. Before connecting to such a server, make sure that you have a console Telnet client (it is found both in Linux and in many Windows versions). Run telnet program with a parameter consisting of the server's IP address and port number, separated by a colon. The port number for the Daytime protocol is always 13. For example: telnet 198.60.73.8:13
In response, you will receive information about the time and date, after which the connection will automatically be terminated. Don't pay attention to the clock - the server is in a different time zone. You only need information about minutes and seconds. Use only those servers from the list that specifically state that they support the Daytime protocol. Never connect to the same server more than once every four seconds inclusive, otherwise your IP address will be (your requests will be considered DoS-ed).

In order for the computer with the server to clock automatically, you will have to use another protocol - NTP. All servers from the specified list support it, even those using the Daytime protocol. However, it is best to use a more accurate NTP server for this - ntp.mobatime.com. The public pool of time.windows.com servers is somewhat less accurate. Please note that the URLs of these servers are written without the usual "http://www" line. Requests to any NTP servers should also never be repeated more than once every four seconds inclusive.

To automatically synchronize the computer's built-in clock with the NTP server in the operating room Linux system, first install the ntp package. Then enter the command: sudo ntpdate (NTP server URL)

To in the operating system Windows time automatically synchronized with the NTP server every time you turn on the computer, select “Date and Time” in the “Control Panel”. Switch to the " Time" tab. Check the “Enable synchronization with an Internet time server” checkbox. Enter the NTP server URL in the only field on the page.

Install on your mobile phone J2ME application Server Time. After launching it, enter the NTP server URL in the settings. Then select “Start!” from the menu. After the request is completed, you can compare the time on the server with the time in the phone's built-in clock. You will have to perform synchronization manually, despite using the NTP protocol. This is due to the fact that virtual machine Java on your phone does not allow applications to change the system clock.

Although a computer is a precision machine, its clock (like any other) can be slow or fast. To prevent such incidents, time synchronization using the Windows Time service is necessary.

According to a given schedule, the OS checks the clock with the server specified in the settings. If the values ​​are not equal, the system adjusts the indicators. Initially, the configuration already contains several addresses.

How to synchronize time on a computer

For one-time synchronization, you need to do the following: Left click on the Windows clock.

The "Change date and time settings" button will open the settings window. Next, you need to go to the “Internet Time” tab. It will display the server address specified in the settings and the last date of synchronization.

By clicking on "Change settings", you can update the time.

Automation function

To synchronize your computer's time with the Internet automatically, just check the only box in the last window. If it is impossible to connect to the north or an error occurs when updating the time, then you can select one of the additional servers, fortunately the OS provides a choice of as many as 5, or find and enter it in the “server” line.

Be careful, the last selected server will remain in the default settings, the operating system will work with it and will automatically synchronize the time on the computer with the Internet.

Command Line Tools

It is not always convenient to use graphical system configuration tools. For example, if the window is overloaded with text: the eyes try to find the desired button, but everything merges into one monotonous image. And entering a couple of commands is faster than frequently moving the mouse cursor from one corner of the window to another.

To synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet using the command line, open the Start menu and select Run, or simply press Win + R on your keyboard. In the line of the window that opens, write cmd, and then press Enter. This will take you to the command line, the following command will update the time on the local computer with the server installed by default:

  • w32tm/resync.

To configure the server that the system will use to synchronize the time on the local computer with the Internet, run the commands:

  • w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:[server for synchronization] /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes (this command sets the server whose time will be used for updates);
  • w32tm /config /update (message to the time service that the settings have changed);
  • net stop w32time && net start w32time (service restart).

- is it too difficult?

Windows is an OS whose functionality can be expanded with additional applications. If you experience difficulties setting up the time update, then you can use the simplest option - download a program that will take many steps on its own and require minimal intervention. Moreover, such programs allow you to synchronize time with greater accuracy than standard system tools. Often they can take into account delays in receiving and sending packets and obtain server addresses from lists on the Internet.

Undocumented settings

By default, the period with which Windows, after setting it up, will synchronize the time on the computer with the Internet is a week. Sometimes this interval needs to be reduced, but the built-in tools do not allow the necessary configuration. The registry will help.

To launch the registry, type regedit in the Run window and press Enter. Go to the HKEYLM branch, in it you need to expand the SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient directory. Find the SpecialPollInterval parameter. It will already contain the value 604800. It is in this number of seconds that one week passes. If you change this number to 3600, the synchronization time will be one hour.

It is not recommended to enter values ​​less than an hour and more than a day in this column. Small values ​​will significantly increase Internet traffic. In addition, if you try to synchronize the time every few seconds, the server will block your IP. Larger values ​​will not achieve maximum system clock accuracy. After making the changes, enter the characters net stop w32time && net start w32time into the command line.

The local network

If you have several computers at home or in an office connected via a local network, you can use one as an accurate time server. Synchronization with the time of the PC included in local network, is done in the same way as with servers on the Internet. But first you will have to run an NTP server on the computer, whose time will be used by other network participants.

To do this, open the registry and edit the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer section. In it, the Enabled key needs to be set to 1, then restart the Windows time service from the command line by typing net stop w32time, and after execution - net start w32time.

Remember that the PC is now used by other network users as a reference, do not forget to check its performance from time to time. You can check whether the server is turned on with the w32tm /query /configuration command. An Enabled value of 1 indicates that everything is fine with the server.

Don’t forget to synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet, because now if the clock runs ahead or is too slow on it, this will affect all users.