Configure a client computer time synchronization

Configure a client computer for automatic domain time synchronization

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

Some computers that are joined to a domain are configured to synchronize from a manual time source. Use the following procedure to configure a client computer that is currently synchronizing with a manually specified computer, to automatically synchronize time with the domain hierarchy.

Administrative Credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer. To perform this procedure from a remote computer, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group.

To configure a client computer for automatic domain time synchronization

• Open a Command Prompt.
• Type the following command and then press ENTER:
w32tm /config /syncfromflags:domhier /update

• Type the following command and then press ENTER:
net stop w32time

• Type the following command and then press ENTER:
net start w32time

Configure a manual time source for a selected client computer

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Before you configure a manual time source for a client computer, you can determine the time difference between it and the source as a means to test basic NTP communication. After completing the configuration on the selected client computer, be sure to monitor the System log in Event Viewer for W32Time errors.

Administrative Credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer. To perform this procedure from a remote computer, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group.

To configure a manual time source for a selected client computer

• Open a Command Prompt.
• Type the following command to display the time difference between the local computer and a target computer, and then press ENTER:
w32tm /stripchart /computer: target /samples: n /dataonly


Value	Definition
target	Specifies the DNS name or IP address of the NTP server that you comparing the local computer's time against.
n	Specifies the number of time samples that will be returned from the target computer to test basic NTP communication.




Open UDP port 123 for outgoing traffic on firewall if needed.

Open UDP port 123 (or a different port you have selected) for incoming NTP traffic.

Type the following command to configure a manual time source for the selected computer and then press ENTER:

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist: peers /syncfromflags:manual /update



where peers specifies the list of DNS names or IP addresses of the NTP time source(s) that the selected computer will synchronize from. When specifying multiple peers, use a space as the delimiter and enclose them in quotation marks.