Time Sync on W2K Server

Windows XP and 2003 Server have a feature on Date/Time that syncs the computer to some master time source on a scheduled basis. This is part of the OS. Is there a program to accomplish the same thing on a W2K server? I have a W2K server whose time drifts with time.

 

http://www.ntp-time-server.supanet.com/about-ntp-time-server.htm

 

Newt: I'm not sure that I need this tool. A few seconds error is OK. 20 Minutes off is not OK. The site you referenced talks about w32time. How do I find it and how do I access it?

 

start~run~services.msc and you should see a service by that name. Make sure it is running. Also if you have a firewall, make sure you are allowing it to go out and find a time server to synch with. SNTP wants to use User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 123.

As to setting things, I know how I do it at work on the domain and the same should work for you I think.

You will be specifying the server(s) to use by start~run~cmd and then net time /setsntp:serverlist and I'd suggest picking a couple that are close to you.

Code:

time-a.nist.gov               129.6.15.28   NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland 
time-b.nist.gov               129.6.15.29   NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland 
time-a.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov   132.163.4.101  NIST, Boulder, Colorado 
time-b.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov   132.163.4.102  NIST, Boulder, Colorado 
time-c.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov   132.163.4.103  NIST, Boulder, Colorado 
utcnist.colorado.edu          128.138.140.44 University of Colorado, Boulder 
time.nist.gov                 192.43.244.18  NCAR, Boulder, Colorado 
time-nw.nist.gov              131.107.1.10   Microsoft, Redmond, Washington 
nist1.datum.com                66.243.43.21  Datum, San Jose, California 
nist1-dc.glassey.com          216.200.93.8   Abovenet, Virginia 
nist1-ny.glassey.com          208.184.49.9   Abovenet, New York City 
nist1-sj.glassey.com          207.126.98.204 Abovenet, San Jose, California 
nist1.aol-ca.truetime.com     207.200.81.113 TrueTime, AOL facility, Sunnyvale, California 
nist1.aol-va.truetime.com      64.236.96.53 TrueTime, AOL facility, Virginia 

I'm in North Carolina so I would pick East Coast servers and use the IP address so for me

net time /setsntp:216.200.93.8 129.6.15.28 so I'd have a Virginia and a Maryland server. If the first one works, the 2nd one never gets checked. The values remain unless you make a change do you only need to do it once.

 

this works very well.

Question:

Is there a way to accomplish the same thing in WIN98?

thanks

 

Tell you the truth, I really don't know. There is no native way with 98 to force a periodic time synch that I'm aware of.

However, the same net time thing might well work to point your PC to the place you want it to go and if that works, I'm guessing that net time /set would do the deed.

You could at least take a look. Command prompt and net time /? to see if the feature is available and what options you have.

If it looks like it will work, you could set up a batch file that did a time synch and have it run at boot time (shutdown or reboot) or if the PC stays up for long periods, just run the batch file.

Sorry but haven't been on a 9x system for a good while and don't have one to play with.

 

I found a little utility when I was running Win98SE (the clock was erratic to say the least), and lately there has been an update that I run on WinXP Home. It's non invasive, runs on start-up, and once the time has been synchronized, exits. It can be run on demand also. The utility is called Dimension 4 (D4) and can be found at www.thinkman.com.

 

D4 - now that's a blast from the past. I ran it myself on 98 and liked it. Good applet. Did it's job and never caused problems.

Glad to hear it is still around. Hadn't thought of it in years.