Windows Tips and Tricks

Windows has a time synchronization function that is supposed to periodically check your system time with accurate Internet time servers. However, the default time servers don’t work very well, if at all. The default servers listed for Windows XP are time.windows.com and time.nist.gov. It is better to change the servers to something else. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has a Web page listing the URLs for a number of servers. Pick one that is located in your area and use that instead of the defaults. I am in NJ and I find that time-a.nist.gov and time-b.nist.gov in Maryland work fine but that time.nist.gov in Boulder, Colorado does not work well. I have never had any luck with time.windows.com.

To change your time servers, open Control Panel - Date, Time, and Regional Options. Select “Change the date and time” and click the tab “Internet Time” at the top of the Date and Time Properties dialog box. You can then enter an address for a time server as shown in the figure below. Click “OK’ after entering the URL for a new server.

The procedure for Vista is very similar and is described by Ed Bott.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 11:40 am and is filed under Computer management, Tweaks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.