Trouble sync'ing laptop time outside of domain

[AndyHancock]

I am reading the spine-tingling array of pages below in order to

synchronize my laptop's clock with an external time server. I am

using Windows XP Professional SP3, and the account I use is a an admin

account. I am not on a domain, nor a work group. One of the first

things I did was to check Services to ensure that the time service is

running (it is).



I've tried going through the GUI and using w32tm on the command line.



Trying via the GUI

------------------

This is basically right-clicking on the time in the system tray, and

selecting "Adjust Date/Time". I tried with the following time servers

URLs:



pool.ntp.org

0.pool.ntp.org

1.pool.ntp.org

2.pool.ntp.org

3.pool.ntp.org

time.chu.nrc.ca

time.nrc.ca

time.windows.com

time.nist.gov

time-a.nist.gov

time-b.nist.gov

tock.nap.com.ar



I confirm that the time server URL is properly set using one of the

following:



w32tm /dumpreg



reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters



Out of desparation, I turned off all firewalls (Kerio PSF 4, Windows

Firewall, and the Speedtouch 585 DSL modem's firewall). The only

thing I get is "An error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with

the.time.servers.url". Before I turned off the modem's firewall, I

would get a System Event in Event Log:



The time provider NtpClient is configured to acquire time from one

or more time sources, however none of the sources are currently

accessible. No attempt to contact a source will be made for XX

minutes. NtpClient has no source of accurate time.



I tried to do more extensive testing, but could not turn on the

Windows Firewall in order to feel safe doing so. That's another wild

goose chase. The last link in Appendix B below says to use "SC sdshow

SharedAccess", but I get the following error, so I dropped that avenue

of troubleshooting:



[SC] OpenService FAILED 5:

Access is denied.



Funny that this problem, caused by SP2, has not been corrected by

SP3. That's a different story.



Trying via wtm32

----------------

I tried endless variations of the following:



w32tm /config [/update] /manualpeerlist:"The.1st.time.server

The.2nd.time.server ..." [/syncfromflags:MANUAL]



w32tm /resync [/rediscover]



The time servers in the 1st command are chosen from the above list of

time server URLs -- sometimes with just one time server, sometimes

with numerous (if not all) the URLs. The 1st command always completes

"successfully", according the the response, and I confirm the time

server setting using the above "dumpreg" and "reg query" commands.

The 2nd command always fails with:



Sending resync command to local computer...

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



Unlike the GUI approach, this failure is always accompanied by the

System Event quoted above.



I noted that a time server set using wtm32 doesn't propagate back into

the server field in the GUI. I suspect this is unrelated to the cause

of my sync problem.



Summing it up

-------------

This kind of research and experimentation can take days, and it is the

Nth time I've undertaken to solve the time synchcronization problem

"once and for all". Considering how prevalent this problem is on the

web, and how my DSL modem can sync to NRC with mere seconds of effort,

I wonder if the Windows implementation even allows for a simple and

robust solution for a noncorporate environment. Is there such a

solution?



(I hope Windows 7 doesn't require the same pound of flesh and blood).



Dying In Canada





Appendix A

URLs re. syncing local time to external time server with wtm32

--------------------------------------------------------------

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307897

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757721(WS.10).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773013(WS.10).aspx

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=9ceddb59471f0aa1

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...et-time-servers-from-the-vista-command-prompt

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/dealing-with-windows-vista-time-sync-problems



http://www.pcworld.com/article/76744/is_microsofts_time_warped.html

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59607

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&q=windo...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=22885a39cf464f2b

http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome

http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/NTPPoolServers



Appendix B

Enabling Windows Firewall

-------------------------

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&c...aller"+event+7023&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://kadaitcha.cx/firewalls.html

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892199/en-us

 

[AndyHancock]

P.S. Unlike the problem described in my original post below, the

original problem, and my eventual goal, is to get automatic or one-

touch synchronization working for my *non*admin account, which is also

a domain account. However, it is a domain account on the laptop that

hasn't been in contact with the domain for years. In fact, this

account probably doesn't exist in the actual domain anymore. Granted,

I really should move the contents of the account to a local user

account, but that seemed to be a lot of trouble for no benefit...until

possibly now.



Currently, the sync problem as described below affects a local admin

account, and so is not attributable to the domain-ness of the domain

user account. If I solve the problem of the admin account, and I get

synchronization working for a local user account, and if the solution

does not work for the domain account, then I know I've got to migrate

its contents (if it's still worthwhile -- I'm changing laptops soon,

hence the former comment about hoping that Windows 7 makes

synchronization much easier).



---------- Original message ----------

From: AndyHancock

Date: Jun 13, 5:56 pm

Subject: Trouble sync'ing laptop time outside of domain

To: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general



w32tm and syncing laptop

------------------------

I am reading the spine-tingling array of pages below in order to

synchronize my laptop's clock with an external time server. I am

using Windows XP Professional SP3, and the account I use is a an admin

account. I am not on a domain, nor a work group. One of the first

things I did was to check Services to ensure that the time service is

running (it is).



I've tried going through the GUI and using w32tm on the command line.



Trying via the GUI

------------------

This is basically right-clicking on the time in the system tray, and

selecting "Adjust Date/Time". I tried with the following time servers

URLs:



pool.ntp.org

0.pool.ntp.org

1.pool.ntp.org

2.pool.ntp.org

3.pool.ntp.org

time.chu.nrc.ca

time.nrc.ca

time.windows.com

time.nist.gov

time-a.nist.gov

time-b.nist.gov

tock.nap.com.ar



I confirm that the time server URL is properly set using one of the

following:



w32tm /dumpreg



reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters



Out of desparation, I turned off all firewalls (Kerio PSF 4, Windows

Firewall, and the Speedtouch 585 DSL modem's firewall). The only

thing I get is "An error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with

the.time.servers.url". Before I turned off the modem's firewall, I

would get a System Event in Event Log:



The time provider NtpClient is configured to acquire time from one

or more time sources, however none of the sources are currently

accessible. No attempt to contact a source will be made for XX

minutes. NtpClient has no source of accurate time.



I tried to do more extensive testing, but could not turn on the

Windows Firewall in order to feel safe doing so. That's another wild

goose chase. The last link in Appendix B below says to use "SC sdshow

SharedAccess", but I get the following error, so I dropped that avenue

of troubleshooting:



[SC] OpenService FAILED 5:

Access is denied.



Funny that this problem, caused by SP2, has not been corrected by

SP3. That's a different story.



Trying via wtm32

----------------

I tried endless variations of the following:



w32tm /config [/update] /manualpeerlist:"The.1st.time.server

The.2nd.time.server ..." [/syncfromflags:MANUAL]



w32tm /resync [/rediscover]



The time servers in the 1st command are chosen from the above list of

time server URLs -- sometimes with just one time server, sometimes

with numerous (if not all) the URLs. The 1st command always completes

"successfully", according the the response, and I confirm the time

server setting using the above "dumpreg" and "reg query" commands.

The 2nd command always fails with:



Sending resync command to local computer...

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



Unlike the GUI approach, this failure is always accompanied by the

System Event quoted above.



I noted that a time server set using wtm32 doesn't propagate back into

the server field in the GUI. I suspect this is unrelated to the cause

of my sync problem.



Summing it up

-------------

This kind of research and experimentation can take days, and it is the

Nth time I've undertaken to solve the time synchcronization problem

"once and for all". Considering how prevalent this problem is on the

web, and how my DSL modem can sync to NRC with mere seconds of effort,

I wonder if the Windows implementation even allows for a simple and

robust solution for a noncorporate environment. Is there such a

solution?



(I hope Windows 7 doesn't require the same pound of flesh and blood).



Dying In Canada





Appendix A

URLs re. syncing local time to external time server with wtm32

--------------------------------------------------------------

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307897

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757721(WS.10).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773013(WS.10).aspx

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=9ceddb59471f0aa1

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...et-time-servers-from-the-vista-command-prompt

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/dealing-with-windows-vista-time-sync-problems



http://www.pcworld.com/article/76744/is_microsofts_time_warped.html

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59607

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&q=windo...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=22885a39cf464f2b

http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome

http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/NTPPoolServers



Appendix B

Enabling Windows Firewall

-------------------------

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&c...aller"+event+7023&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://kadaitcha.cx/firewalls.html

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892199/en-us

 

[Ǝøçεl]

Do not use more than one firewall, 2 or more is a sure way to hit trouble,

just as with AV's.



"AndyHancock" wrote:



> I am reading the spine-tingling array of pages below in order to

> synchronize my laptop's clock with an external time server. I am

> using Windows XP Professional SP3, and the account I use is a an admin

> account. I am not on a domain, nor a work group. One of the first

> things I did was to check Services to ensure that the time service is

> running (it is).

>

> I've tried going through the GUI and using w32tm on the command line.

>

> Trying via the GUI

> ------------------

> This is basically right-clicking on the time in the system tray, and

> selecting "Adjust Date/Time". I tried with the following time servers

> URLs:

>

> pool.ntp.org

> 0.pool.ntp.org

> 1.pool.ntp.org

> 2.pool.ntp.org

> 3.pool.ntp.org

> time.chu.nrc.ca

> time.nrc.ca

> time.windows.com

> time.nist.gov

> time-a.nist.gov

> time-b.nist.gov

> tock.nap.com.ar

>

> I confirm that the time server URL is properly set using one of the

> following:

>

> w32tm /dumpreg

>

> reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters

>

> Out of desparation, I turned off all firewalls (Kerio PSF 4, Windows

> Firewall, and the Speedtouch 585 DSL modem's firewall). The only

> thing I get is "An error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with

> the.time.servers.url". Before I turned off the modem's firewall, I

> would get a System Event in Event Log:

>

> The time provider NtpClient is configured to acquire time from one

> or more time sources, however none of the sources are currently

> accessible. No attempt to contact a source will be made for XX

> minutes. NtpClient has no source of accurate time.

>

> I tried to do more extensive testing, but could not turn on the

> Windows Firewall in order to feel safe doing so. That's another wild

> goose chase. The last link in Appendix B below says to use "SC sdshow

> SharedAccess", but I get the following error, so I dropped that avenue

> of troubleshooting:

>

> [SC] OpenService FAILED 5:

> Access is denied.

>

> Funny that this problem, caused by SP2, has not been corrected by

> SP3. That's a different story.

>

> Trying via wtm32

> ----------------

> I tried endless variations of the following:

>

> w32tm /config [/update] /manualpeerlist:"The.1st.time.server

> The.2nd.time.server ..." [/syncfromflags:MANUAL]

>

> w32tm /resync [/rediscover]

>

> The time servers in the 1st command are chosen from the above list of

> time server URLs -- sometimes with just one time server, sometimes

> with numerous (if not all) the URLs. The 1st command always completes

> "successfully", according the the response, and I confirm the time

> server setting using the above "dumpreg" and "reg query" commands.

> The 2nd command always fails with:

>

> Sending resync command to local computer...

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

>

> Unlike the GUI approach, this failure is always accompanied by the

> System Event quoted above.

>

> I noted that a time server set using wtm32 doesn't propagate back into

> the server field in the GUI. I suspect this is unrelated to the cause

> of my sync problem.

>

> Summing it up

> -------------

> This kind of research and experimentation can take days, and it is the

> Nth time I've undertaken to solve the time synchcronization problem

> "once and for all". Considering how prevalent this problem is on the

> web, and how my DSL modem can sync to NRC with mere seconds of effort,

> I wonder if the Windows implementation even allows for a simple and

> robust solution for a noncorporate environment. Is there such a

> solution?

>

> (I hope Windows 7 doesn't require the same pound of flesh and blood).

>

> Dying In Canada

>

>

> Appendix A

> URLs re. syncing local time to external time server with wtm32

> --------------------------------------------------------------

> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307897

> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757721(WS.10).aspx

> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773013(WS.10).aspx

> http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=9ceddb59471f0aa1

> http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...et-time-servers-from-the-vista-command-prompt

> http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/dealing-with-windows-vista-time-sync-problems

>

> http://www.pcworld.com/article/76744/is_microsofts_time_warped.html

> http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59607

> http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&q=windo...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=22885a39cf464f2b

> http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome

> http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/NTPPoolServers

>

> Appendix B

> Enabling Windows Firewall

> -------------------------

> http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&c...aller"+event+7023&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

> http://kadaitcha.cx/firewalls.html

> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892199/en-us

> .

>

 

[AndyHancock]

On Jun 13, 7:07 pm, Ǝøçεl wrote:

> Do not use more than one firewall, 2 or more is a sure way to hit trouble,

> just as with AV's.



I think on the whole, I agree. As I mentioned, I had all firewalls

off (and could not even activate the Windows Firewall even if I wanted

to). For me, Kerio is *the* firewall. The modem firewall has never

really had any effect on anything and it's trivial to turn off. It

just happen to come with the modem, so I turned it on one day to see

whether it made any difference, and it never has. Like the philosophy

of multi-layered defence, though marginally (if at all), and easy to

turn off if it any undesired interference is experienced.