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Can't sync pc time with any time server...

Anonymous
2024-06-02T06:56:28+00:00

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎11/‎27/‎2023

OS build 22631.3593

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1003.0

Time Zone: Eastern Time USA

I am logged in under an Administrator user account.

In control panel, date and time, internet time, change settings:

Server = time.windows.com

Click "update now" and it always times out with error:

An error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with time.windows.com.

I also tried using: time.nist.gov, pool.ntp.org, 0.pool.ntp.org, 1.pool.ntp.org, 0.north-america.pool.ntp.org, and time.google.com ... all fail. I also sometimes see an error message "the peer was unreachable" when trying to sync.

Even my own router has a running NTP server, but trying its IP address as the time server (192.168.1.1) doesn't work either.

Two other computers on the same home network can sync with time.windows.com immediately and successfully on every attempt, so this isn't a network issue, router problem, or ISP issue. It's local to this PC.

Also tried stopping/restarting the Windows Time service, and rebooting the PC.

On the other PCs that work, the registry entry "SpecialPollTimeRemaining" in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\w32time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

has a value of "time.windows.com,0", but the non-working PC has empty value for this entry. If I set it to "time.windows.com,0" on the non-working PC, it resets itself to empty or ",0" at some point when I go back and check it later. I have no idea why that happens or if it's related, but it's strange. Other registry settings under this key match the other working PCs.

I have tried changing my local time zone to a different one, then back to the correct one, but it still won't successfully sync.

I also tried disabling Windows Firewall and then attempting to sync time, but it still fails with one of the errors: "peer is unreachable", "no time data available", or just a generic "an error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with time.windows.com" with no additional detail.

If I open CMD.EXE as admin an run the command:
w32tm /config /update /manualpeerlist:time.windows.com

it immediately responds "the command completed successfully".

So I tried manually setting my time 20 minutes off, then repeating this command. It again says it's successful, but my clock is still 20 minutes off, so it did not resync with a time server regardless of saying successful.

Running: w32tm /resync

results in this message:

"Sending resync command to local computer

The computer did not resync because no time data was available."

When I run this command: w32tm /query /configuration

it returns:

[Configuration] 

EventLogFlags: 2 (Local) 

AnnounceFlags: 10 (Local) 

TimeJumpAuditOffset: 28800 (Local) 

MinPollInterval: 10 (Local) 

MaxPollInterval: 15 (Local) 

MaxNegPhaseCorrection: 54000 (Local) 

MaxPosPhaseCorrection: 54000 (Local) 

MaxAllowedPhaseOffset: 1 (Local) 

FrequencyCorrectRate: 4 (Local) 

PollAdjustFactor: 5 (Local) 

LargePhaseOffset: 50000000 (Local) 

SpikeWatchPeriod: 900 (Local) 

LocalClockDispersion: 10 (Local) 

HoldPeriod: 5 (Local) 

PhaseCorrectRate: 1 (Local) 

UpdateInterval: 360000 (Local) 

[TimeProviders] 

NtpClient (Local) 

DllName: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\w32time.DLL (Local) 

Enabled: 1 (Local) 

InputProvider: 1 (Local) 

AllowNonstandardModeCombinations: 1 (Local) 

ResolvePeerBackoffMinutes: 15 (Local) 

ResolvePeerBackoffMaxTimes: 7 (Local) 

CompatibilityFlags: 2147483648 (Local) 

EventLogFlags: 1 (Local) 

LargeSampleSkew: 3 (Local) 

SpecialPollInterval: 32768 (Local) 

Type: NTP (Policy) 

NtpServer: ,0x1 (Policy) 

NtpServer (Local) 

DllName: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\w32time.DLL (Local) 

Enabled: 0 (Local) 

InputProvider: 0 (Local)

I think the result line "NtpServer:" not showing a valid server before the comma is part of the problem, but I don't know how to get a valid server in there since I did set it in control panel, date and time, internet time, and it shows "time.windows.com" there.

However, running the cmd: w32tm /stripchart /computer:time.windows.com /dataonly /samples:5

returns:

Tracking time.windows.com [40.119.6.228:123]. 

Collecting 5 samples. 

The current time is 6/2/2024 2:50:48 AM. 

02:50:48, +00.7148754s 

02:50:50, +00.7100868s 

02:50:52, +00.7243557s 

02:50:54, +00.7134875s 

02:50:56, +00.7213195s

I am at a loss as to why this PC will not successfully update the system time from an internet time server.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

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  1. Munkhu 2,690 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-06-02T11:14:57+00:00

    Thanks for reaching out! I'm an Independent Advisor and a Microsoft user like you.

    To resolve the issue of a Windows 11 PC not syncing time with any time server, you can follow these detailed troubleshooting steps:

    1. Verify Windows Time Service

    Ensure the Windows Time Service is running and set to start automatically.

    1. Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
    2. Scroll down to find "Windows Time" and double-click on it.
    3. Set the "Startup type" to "Automatic" and click "Start" if the service is not running.
    4. Click "Apply" and then "OK".

    2. Re-register and Restart Windows Time Service via Command Prompt

    1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
    2. Execute the following commands: 
       codenet stop w32time
 w32tm /unregister
 w32tm /register
 net start w32time
 w32tm /resync
      These commands stop the service, unregister and re-register it, restart it, and force a resync.

    3. Change Time Server

    Switch to a different time server to see if that resolves the issue.

    1. Open Control Panel and go to "Date and Time".
    2. Click on the "Internet Time" tab and then "Change settings".
    3. Select a different server from the dropdown list (e.g., time.nist.gov) and click "Update now".

    4. Adjust Registry for Time Synchronization

    Modify the registry settings to ensure proper synchronization intervals.

    1. Open regedit and navigate to: 
       HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient
    2. Find the "SpecialPollInterval" entry and change its value to a lower number (e.g., 3600 for one hour).

    5. Check Network and Firewall Settings

    Ensure your network and firewall settings are not blocking time synchronization.

    1. Verify that your PC has internet access and can browse websites.
    2. Temporarily disable Windows Firewall and attempt to sync the time again.

    6. Set Windows Time Service to Trigger Automatically

    Use the SC command to configure the Windows Time Service to start when the network is available.

    1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
    2. Execute the following command: 
       sc triggerinfo w32time start/networkon stop/networkoff

    7. Update Group Policy Settings

    Ensure correct Group Policy settings if you have access to the Group Policy Editor (not available in Windows 11 Home).

    1. Open gpedit.msc.
    2. Navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Windows Time Service -> Time Providers.
    3. Ensure "Enable Windows NTP Client" is set to "Enabled" and configure the NTP server settings.

    8. Additional Troubleshooting Steps

    If the above steps do not resolve the issue, consider the following:

    • Check the CMOS battery if your PC's clock resets on every boot.
    • Manually set the time zone and date/time, then attempt to sync again.
    • Ensure the "NtpServer" registry entry is correctly set and not empty.

    Please do let me know if the method I suggested works for you or if you need further assistance.

    9 people found this answer helpful.
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