Automatic Time Synchronisation never runs?

PilotGW · Dec 13, 2022

Hello everyone,

While trying to shoot down a weird, unrelated bug a few months back I noticed my clock was running a little slow. With a new CMOS battery fitted, I'm noticing that the clock is now drifting ahead by about 0.3 seconds per day. I don't have a particular problem with this as drift is inevitable. What is concerning me however, is that I've noticed that Windows isn't synchronizing time automatically at all, despite 'Set the time automatically' being set in the settings menu. If I go to 'Additional Clocks', it states that 'this computer is set to automatically synchronize on a scheduled basis' with time.windows.com.

Observing the time drift over the course of a week, the clock didn't synchronize automatically at all. According to time.is, my clock was 2 seconds ahead. Again, not a huge deal, but it will begin to add up if this carries on.

Today, I tried purposefully setting the time incorrectly in the BIOS by about 2 minutes to see if there is a minimum threshold for it to trigger the synchronization, however it seemed quite happy to continue using the wrong time.

If I click on 'Sync Now' in the settings menu, toggle 'Set the time automatically' off then on again, or click 'Update now' in the Additional clocks / Internet Time tab, the clock will synchronize perfectly fine, so I'm clearly not having trouble reaching the time server. (the dates / times of last sync in the image above are the result of a manual synchronisation today)

In Task Scheduler, there are two tasks related to Time Synchronization: ForceSynchronizeTime (runs every boot, with run result 0x0) and SynchronizeTime (runs daily, but has a run result of 0x5, which, from the very limited information I can find may be an access violation error, but I can't confirm this). Neither task seems to correct the time, however.

I've tried unregistering and re-registering the time service in command prompt. I've also done the usual: SFC, DISM etc but nothing seems untoward.

I can't seem to find many other reports of this happening, so is there something I'm missing here, or has something broken recently? I reinstalled Windows 11 fresh in early October and haven't fiddled with anything settings wise, so I don't think it's user error.

wiganken · Dec 14, 2022

Have you tried switching to another time server? You can always switch back to time.windows.com server if it doesn't work.

On my computer I only have one alternative server and that is time.nist.gov but maybe you will have access to more options.

The following refers to Windows 10/11 and shows how to add time servers: - How to add or change Time Server in Windows 11/10

clam1952 · Dec 14, 2022

I had this on a Win10 PC, on checking in task scheduler, it hadn't auto updated for over 6 months! Fixed by changing the Time Server from time.nist.gov to time.windows.com. It's been accurately keeping time ever since.

PilotGW · Dec 14, 2022

Thank you!

I have tried changing and adding servers, but only as a one off to see if the ForceSynchronizeTime task would actually do anything, as that allegedly runs successfully at startup. However, it still doesn't change the drift.

I might try changing it and observing it for a week, although I'm of the opinion that I shouldn't have to dive that deep to get something as simple as a clock to work properly. It should work out of the box.

Although when I noticed my clock was behind a few months back, it hadn't synchronised since the day I reinstalled Windows, which is making me think it's a bug. Just not sure what triggers it.

TairikuOkami · Dec 14, 2022

PilotGW said:
It should work out of the box.

I guess time sync does not like some PCs (networks) or people, it never worked for me since XP. I use Update Time v1.3

PilotGW · Dec 14, 2022

TairikuOkami said:
I guess time sync does not like some PCs (networks) or people, it never worked for me since XP. I use Update Time v1.3

Oh wow!

I have to admit I don't know if it was the same when I was back on Windows 10 as I never really looked into it, but the time was never noticeably out, so I guess it was working there.

I might try reinstalling Windows soon to see if it got corrupted along the line somewhere, but it evidently hasn't been working since the last reinstall, so it might not make a difference.

I know we're only talking in seconds difference, but it bothers me that my powerful PC can't keep time, when my tablet, phone etc. are correct 100% of the time.

kelper · Dec 14, 2022

I don't have an answer, but you write a superb, well-formatted question!

I use the same time server as my router as it knows where live. Many time servers deduce that I live in London and the latency affects the accuracy.

Nobody in mainland Britain is further from London than me, apart from a sheep called Eric.

wiganken · Dec 15, 2022

Does the following help?

Configuring Systems for High Accuracy

Time synchronization in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 has been substantially improved. Under reasonable operating conditions, systems can be configured to maintain 1ms (millisecond) accuracy or better (with respect to UTC).

learn.microsoft.com

What is Windows's time server synchronisation precision? (and does it compensate the ping time?)

For the project described in Application of this question I need the best time clock precision possible, and one solution is to have a precise synchronisation of the computer's real time clock. Wh...

superuser.com

PilotGW · Dec 27, 2022

Hi all,

Apologies for the absence and thank you for your input.

I bit the bullet and decided to reinstall Windows 11 a few days ago on 23/12. I've kept my PC off over Christmas and just turned it on today. The clock was 4 seconds ahead.

I left the PC idle for a few minutes to see if anything would happen, and it seems something did...however, it's still not working correctly.

If I go to the Date & Time settings menu, I see the last synchronization displayed as the time I reinstalled Windows. If I go to Additional Clocks / Internet Time tab however, it shows it has successfully synchronized today with time.windows.com. The SynchronizeTime task in task scheduler has run with run result 0x0 (as opposed to 0x5, before the reinstall).

The interesting thing is, the time hasn't synchronized at all. It is still 4 seconds ahead.

If I go to event viewer, there are two Time Service event IDs 35 & 37. During today's sync, only event 37 has registered:

The time provider NtpClient is currently receiving valid time data from time.windows.com,0x9.

During the sync that happened at Windows installation however, event 35 also registered:

The time service is now synchronizing the system time with the time source time.windows.com,0x9 (ntp.m|0x9|0.0.0.0:123->51.145.123.29:123) with reference id 494637363. Current local stratum number is 4.

Event ID 35 didn't register with today's 'sync', which I guess is why the time is still out:

I'm at my wits end with this. I've tried literally everything at this point. I sent feedback to Microsoft, however my feedback was absorbed into a collection, and I received a comment from an engineer telling me to just hit the 'Sync Now' button...completely missing the point.

PilotGW · Jan 5, 2023

Okay I figured I'd provide an update.

The clock is synchronizing automatically...sort of.

When I first boot my PC and leave it idle for 10 minutes or so, the SynchronizeTime task runs. This starts the Windows Time service, however if I go to Date & Time settings, there is no evidence of a synchronization actually having taken place. This is confirmed by checking against an accurate time source. If I go to Additional Clocks > Internet Time, however, it states (rather weirdly) that it has successfully synchronized and gives a schedule for the next synchronization as 9 hours later.

Interestingly, if I check the status of w32tm in command prompt it states that "the computer did not resync because no time data was available" but also that the Last Good Sync is roughly the time since the SynchronizeTime task ran...this is clearly a bit of a contradiction. But considering the time is still out at this stage, the Internet Time tab and the Last Good Sync information in command prompt are likely giving false information.

Now, if I leave the PC running until the time the Internet Time window states as the next synchronization, it will synchronize successfully, and this is reflected in the Date & Time settings menu. If I go back to the Internet Time tab, it reverts back to saying that "this computer is set to synchronize on a scheduled basis." It also stops the Windows Time service in the process, but the SynchronizeTime task doesn't run again.

This whole process seems to repeat again after another 9 hours, so my clock is synchronizing once every 18 hours. If I restart or shut down my PC at any point, however, it seems to break the schedule, meaning it won't synchronize unless I keep the PC on for 9+ hours.

I'd obviously like it if I didn't have to keep my PC on all day, so is there any obvious reason why it would be 'failing' at the first attempt, but always succeeding on the second attempt?

2112 · Jan 6, 2023

PilotGW said:
This whole process seems to repeat again after another 9 hours, so my clock is synchronizing once every 18 hours. If I restart or shut down my PC at any point, however, it seems to break the schedule, meaning it won't synchronize unless I keep the PC on for 9+ hours.

I'd obviously like it if I didn't have to keep my PC on all day, so is there any obvious reason why it would be 'failing' at the first attempt, but always succeeding on the second attempt?

I had the same issue and solved it by changing the Time Syncronization Interval using the method descibed here: How to Change the Time Synchronization Interval in Windows

So now Windows 11 never tries to sync the clock in the middle of the night. That was the issue i had, that Win 11 never tried to sync daytime and thus the clock never got synced since i turn off the computer in the evening.

barreleye · Jan 6, 2023

2112 said:
I had the same issue and solved it by changing the Time Syncronization Interval using the method descibed here: How to Change the Time Synchronization Interval in Windows

So now Windows 11 never tries to sync the clock in the middle of the night. That was the issue i had, that Win 11 never tried to sync daytime and thus the clock never got synced since i turn off the computer in the evening.

I've always used the method described here. You can save the new task for easy re-creation on new installs.

Make Windows synchronize time more often

www.pretentiousname.com

Note that it advises against using the SpecialPollIInterval registry method presented in your wikihow article, because according to the author, it doesn't work predictably for the reason you alluded to, as it depends on the time service running at the right time. It sounds like that is still the case, and you sort of threaded the needle to make it work. The task approach, however, ensures that the time is set even if the scheduled run was missed, perhaps because the computer was shut down when it was expected to run.

2112 · Jan 10, 2023

barreleye said:
Make Windows synchronize time more often

www.pretentiousname.com

...ensures that the time is set even if the scheduled run was missed, perhaps because the computer was shut down when it was expected to run.

Thanks for the tip! :)

Using the Task Scheduler was indeed the way to go. The only downside was the window that pops up everytime the Task runs, but it could be fixed by clicking the "Change User of Group..." button and just adding SYSTEM. Now the Task runs silently in the background.

barreleye · Jan 10, 2023

2112 said:
Thanks for the tip! :)

Using the Task Scheduler was indeed the way to go. The only downside was the window that pops up everytime the Task runs, but it could be fixed by clicking the "Change User of Group..." button and just adding SYSTEM. Now the Task runs silently in the background.

Glad it worked. I've been using this method for 10+ years, and I've never had a window popup. The article has a section with pictures telling you which account to use and the privileges to assign to it. It's not SYSTEM. Anyway, mine is set up per the article, and it's worked perfectly all this time, going from Windows 7-8-10-11.

TM21 · Jan 10, 2023

Going way, way, back into the deep dark past, (Windows XP or before) I lost all faith in the ability of Windows to take care of its own time.
My on-board clocks have always done a pretty good job, for a crystal controlled clock, but seldom if ever perfect. My Timex wrist watch does a better job. (my Bulova Acutron was terrible!)
Hence, I use a little Time Sync program (Free Version if possible) called Chronograph (Chrono.exe) that I can just click on and it will immediately re-sync my clock with the National Time Standard.
I am kind of a time nut, but hundredths of a second or even tenths of a second don't bother me. I'm not doing anything that requires that kind of precision.
I just ran my Chronograph program and reset my clock, I was 317 miliseconds behind. Oh the pain! But, somehow I'll live.
Not bad though, since this clock has not been reset since November 2022.
Cheers Mates!
TM

Automatic Time Synchronisation never runs?

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