How to set the time on the Internet in Windows 7. How to synchronize the time on your computer with the Internet? Configuring NTP server and client using Group Policy

Setting the date and time on a computer is one of the simplest settings. In general, setting the time and date does not require constant adjustment, because... It’s enough to set the date and time once and forget about this setting :) But there is a need to adjust it, for example, the cancellation of the transition to winter time in Russia.

In this article, I will show you step by step how to set the date and time in Windows 7 on your computer, and what other settings you can make with the time. How to disable time synchronization, or how to change the date and time display format.

And since there are several ways to access setting the date and time, I will show you a simple method and a more complex one.

So, let's get started.

Set date and time via system tray

First, let's look at a simple way to set the date and time:

Step 1. On the taskbar, in the lower right corner, left-click once on the date and time. In the window that appears, click Change date and time, as shown in the figure:

To change the date and time on your computer, your Account must have administrator rights, otherwise you will not be able to make changes. How to find out if your account has administrator rights.

Step 3. In the time and date setting window that opens, use the arrows to select the desired month, year and date. And under the clock, set the desired time.

After choosing to adjust the date and time, click OK. That's all, you have set the date and time.

Additional date and time settings on your computer

Another time and date setting you can do is change your time zone by selecting your time zone where you are. If you need to adjust the time zone, then in the date and time tab, left-click on change time zone:

In the Select time zone window that appears, select your time zone or the one you need from the drop-down menu.

With the adoption of the law abolishing Russia's transition to winter time, the automatic transition to winter time and back in Windows has lost its meaning, uncheck the Automatic transition to winter time and back, if something changes, put it back :)

If you have installed an update from Microsoft, then your time zone setting will look like this:

Another date and time setting you can do is to change how time synchronization is performed and change the synchronization server from the list provided.

Step 1. Go to the Internet Time tab and click on the Change settings button (Administrator rights are required):

Step 2. If you have unchecked the Synchronize with an Internet time server checkbox, then check it and select any server you like from the list, as in the picture:

After setting, click on the OK button!

Another way to access date and time settings

Now let's look at another way to access time and date settings, this is through the control panel. So, let's begin.

A small battery is built into motherboard your computer, allowing you to manage your PC clock even when the computer is turned off. If the battery is low, you will see error messages such as "The system CMOS checksum is incorrect - using the default configuration" when the computer starts and the date and time are reset to the default date set by the BIOS manufacturer. You can still start your computer by clicking the button to continue booting and Windows will boot as normal.

Problems start with computer usage, where the times created, modified and retrieved for files and folders are confusing, emails sent and received using your email client software, are marked with a much older date, causing emails to move down. all HTTPS secure sites fail to load in your web browser, test periods may expire immediately, etc. The problems start on the computer, where the times created, modified, and retrieved for files and folders are confusingly sent and received emails with your mail client software marked more old Windows has an automatic time synchronization feature so that the time on your computer remains accurate, but unfortunately it's only planned to run once a week.

Synchronize the clock with the Internet time server in the Internet time settings.

Automatic system clock synchronization

  1. In the search box in the Start menu, type "Date and Time" and press Enter, this should be the Date and Time Control Panel.
  2. In the Date and Time dialog box, click the Internet Time tab.
  3. Click the "Change Settings" button. In the User Account Control dialog box, click the Continue button (if it appears).
  4. In the Internet Time Settings dialog box, click the Server drop-down arrow and select a different time server. The default is time.windows.com, try time.nist.gov and see if it works for you.
  5. Click the Update Now button to update your computer's clock and check your computer's time.
  6. Click OK buttons to close the dialog boxes.

Configure the system to update the startup time.

To force an update, you must do the following as an administrator (or system):

SC START w32time task_started

To force an update at startup, you must run this command as an administrator. You can do this using the Task Scheduler. To do this, follow these steps as an administrator:

schtasks / CREATE / TN “Set time at startup” / SC ONSTART / RU SYSTEM / TR “SC START w32time task_started”.

Free time synchronization software

This time, you may have trouble syncing with your computer due to changes in settings or interference from third-party software, a faulty CMOS battery, or other hardware issues. If Windows does not synchronize the system time correctly, the date and time may be incorrect every time you turn on your computer, which can cause problems across multiple computers or your browser. To solve this problem, we have a large number third party programs time synchronization software that can update your system's time from the Internet.

A computer is a computing device with incredible precision. However, despite this, the clock in it may rush or, on the contrary, lag behind. To prevent such situations from occurring, you need to configure time synchronization using a special operating system service.


Windows will, according to a given schedule, check its clock with the server specified in the settings. If the verified values ​​do not match, the indicators will be adjusted automatically. The system configuration initially already contains several addresses.

Synchronizing time on your computer

To perform one-time time synchronization, you must use the following sequence of actions. Left-click on the Windows clock. To open the settings menu, use the "Change date and time settings" button. After that, go to the “Internet Time” tab. As a rule, the server address and the date of the last synchronization with it are displayed here. After clicking the "Change Settings" button, you will be able to update the time.

How to set up automatic time synchronization

To set up automatic synchronization of your computer’s time with the server, just check one box in the last window. If you cannot connect to the server, or the time is updated with some error, you can select an additional server ( operating system provides five to choose from) or enter the address you need manually. The last server you selected will be used by default for time synchronization.

Changing date and time settings using the command line

Sometimes it is not very convenient to use graphical configuration tools. Sometimes you can find the right button in all the variety open windows it can be very difficult. In addition, many people find it much more convenient to enter commands from the keyboard than to move the mouse cursor from corner to corner. To synchronize time using the command line, you need to open the Start menu and select Run. You can also simply use the key combination “Win” + “R”. In the window that appears, enter “cmd” and press “Enter”.

This will take you to the command prompt. To update the time and synchronize it with the server that is installed on the system by default, use the following command: w32tm/resync. To configure the server used by the system, as well as synchronize time with the Internet, the following commands will be useful to you: w32tm/config/manualpeerlist:[server name for synchronization]/ syncfromflags:manual/reliable:yes (using this command you will install the server that is in will be used for updates in the future); w32tm/config/update ( this command informs the time service about changes in settings); net stop w32time&&net start w32time (used to restart the service).

other methods

If you find using the command line too complicated, there are other methods you can try. The functionality of the Windows operating system can be significantly expanded through the use of additional applications. If you experience certain difficulties setting up updates, then perhaps a simpler option will suit you. you can use special program to make working with the operating system easier. Such utilities allow you to automate most steps and require minimal user intervention. Using such programs you can synchronize time with maximum accuracy. Sometimes such applications even take into account the delays associated with sending and receiving packets.

Time and date settings

In the Windows operating system, by default, a certain time period is set with which the system will synchronize the date and time value. This period is equal to one week. In some cases it is necessary to reduce this interval. Unfortunately, this cannot be done using built-in tools. You can correct the situation using the registry.

To start the registry, enter the command “regedit” in the Run window and press Enter. After that, go to the HKEYLM branch and expand the SYSTEM\CurrentControl\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient directory in it. Next, find the parameter called SpecialPollInterval. The value 604800 should be written in this parameter. This is how many seconds a week lasts. If you replace this number with 3600, time synchronization will occur hourly.

However, it is better not to enter values ​​less than one hour and more than a day in this line. A value that is too low will greatly increase Internet traffic. It is also quite possible that you will achieve IP blocking by requesting time synchronization every two seconds. If, on the contrary, you set the time period too long, you will not be able to achieve high accuracy of the system time. After you decide on the synchronization interval, you need to enter the characters net stop w32time &&net start w32time into the command line.

The local network

If you have several computers at home or office connected to one local network, you can use one of them as an exact time server. To synchronize time with a personal computer connected to a local network, you must perform the same steps as when synchronizing with a server. To begin, run an NTP server on the computer with which other network participants will synchronize. To do this, you need to go into the registry and edit the following section: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer.

Set the “enabled” key to “1” and restart Windows service time from the command line. To do this, you need to enter the line “net stop w32time”, and after completing the command, enter “net start w32time”. Now given Personal Computer can be used by other users local network for time synchronization. Therefore, it would not hurt to check its performance from time to time. To do this, use the command “w32tm /query /configuration”. If the value of the “Enabled” parameter is “1”, then everything is normal.

Time in an era information technologies has acquired special significance for modern man. Each of us looks at our watches at least several times a day. Many people regularly synchronize their time reporting devices through various sources, including the Internet. Accurate time sometimes plays a decisive role in matters where not even minutes, but seconds are important. For example, trading on stock exchanges can result in disaster for a player whose watch showed wrong time. Let's try to set up ours Digital Watch on your computer and synchronize the exact time via the Internet.

Time synchronization technology

First, I’ll tell you a little about the technology used to obtain accurate time from Internet sources. The entire time synchronization process is carried out through a special network protocol called NTP (Network Time Protocol). This protocol is a set of various rules and mathematical algorithms, thanks to which the time on your computer is precisely adjusted with a difference of a few hundredths of one second. There is also a protocol for systems that do not require such precise synchronization, called SNTP. The difference between the source and the receiving device can be up to 1 second.

The technology for transmitting precise time parameters is a multilayer structure, where each underlying layer electronic devices synchronizes with the one above it. The lower the technological layer, the less accurate the time obtained from it will be. But this is in theory, in practice everything depends on many parameters involved in the synchronization system and more accurate time can be obtained, for example, from the fourth layer of devices than from the third.

At the zero level of this transmission chain there are always time reporting devices, roughly speaking, clocks. These clocks are molecular, atomic or quantum time-keeping devices and are called reference clocks. Such devices do not transmit time parameters directly to the Internet; they are usually connected to the primary computer via a high-speed interface with minimal delays. It is these computers that make up the first layer in the technological chain. On the second layer there will be machines that receive time from the first layer of devices via a network connection, most often via the Internet. All subsequent levels will receive information about the exact time according to the same network protocols from the overlying layers.

Time synchronization in Windows

Let's try to synchronize time using systems Windows XP, Windows 2003 . To do this, click on the clock that is located in your tray (usually in the lower right corner of the screen) to bring up the date and time settings. In this case, be sure to check the settings “ time zone”, which are located there and adjust them if necessary.

For Windows Vista, Windows 7 You can also just click on the clock at the bottom of the screen and go to the settings through the special link “Changing date and time settings”

Then go to the “Internet Time” tab and click the “Change Settings” button.

An Internet time settings window will appear, similar to the same window from Windows XP, 2003.

In this window there is an option to automatically reconcile hours via the Internet, which is available opposite the inscription “ Synchronize with an Internet time server" If you enable it by checking the box, then periodically the time of your computer will be updated via the Internet server by the operating system itself.

Next, opposite the option “ Server:“The user can choose from a list of addresses from which synchronization will be carried out. Try selecting one of them and clicking the “ Update now" If through certain time a synchronization error message will appear below the list, manually enter one of the server addresses below and check the connection to it.

ntp.mobatime.ru
nist1-ny.ustiming.org
ntp.chg.ru

Below is a video that will show the process of setting up the system clock in Windows 7 and synchronizing it.

Changing the automatic time synchronization period in Windows

By default, operating Windows system accesses synchronization servers only once a week. Provided that the user has set automatic time checking, of course. For some, this period may seem quite long or may be quite frequent than would be desirable. Fortunately, the system allows you to change this parameter through the registry settings.

Open the window " Execute” through the menu “ Start" IN command line dial regedit and start with the “ OK" You need to get to the next section one by one

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - SYSTEM - CurrentControlSet - Services - W32Time - TimeProviders - NtpClient

and select the option in the window on the left SpecialPollInterval. The value is given here 604800 , if we translate it into decimal system calculus. This number of seconds is equal to one week. Here you can enter another value that you need, converting it into seconds.

In addition to the clock running on your computer, there are probably other sources of time that you have to periodically check so as not to get out of the general work schedule or schedule. Clocks can be wall, table, or wrist, and the accuracy of the time shown by them does not always correspond to reality. Meanwhile, trying to synchronize the time of these devices manually, many turn to television sources. However, such means can transmit signals with significant delays, so it is impossible to guarantee accurate time to at least a minute from these sources.

Fortunately, there are many time display services on the global network that will help you set your watch to the exact time, down to one second. Of course, the Internet is not blameless in terms of time delays in the transmission of information, but such delays with good communication usually do not amount to more than one second.

Multifunctional service for displaying exact time. In addition to its main purpose, it allows you to check the clocks of different time zones, find out calendar information for the current day, and fine tuning format for displaying time on the screen through the site and display style, display the current year's calendar, find out the time in any city around the world and much more. Perhaps one of the most useful and versatile time services I have ever worked with.

A beautiful image of a dial with moving hands will delight fans of stylish virtual design. In addition to information about the exact time, here you can find data on the time of sunrise and sunset in your region, as well as a link to the weather forecast for the specified city.

There is practically nothing superfluous on the screen, only basic information about the exact time, plus the ability to compare it with the clock of your system. However, there is a small menu with additional functions, such as the remaining time until the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar, a stopwatch, a date converter and a time zone map.

You also have access to other web resources that may help you resolve your issues.

Having purchased a new mobile gadget, users may encounter problems with incorrectly set time zones and the current date and time. However, it can be solved quite simply, and in this guide we will tell you how to set the date and time on a smartphone running Android.

To set the time on Android, you need to follow a few simple steps:

Step 1. Run Settings, go to the category " System and device" and select the section " Additionally».

Step 2. Click the button date and time».

Step 3. In the window that opens, you can set the time, change the date, select the format for displaying the time and date, set the time zone, and also set automatic receipt of settings.

note: Date and time options may be hidden in other subsections, such as advanced settings. It depends on the Android version.

You can also access the date and time settings in another way - through the application Watch:

Step 1. Launch the application Watch.

Step 2. Click the options button.

Step 3. Click on the button Date and time settings».

Why does the time go wrong on Android?

Synchronize date and time on Android smartphones Sometimes it may not work correctly, causing settings to fail. To fix this issue, you need to disable the " Network date and time" And " Network time zone", and then set the settings manually.

If the issue is not resolved, you should run and reinstall all the parameters.

Conclusion