For the past 4 years I have been having problems with Windows Time in XP which causes serious problems when the Windows Clock is completely out of synchronisation. I have replaced the CMOS battery and implemented various other modifications over the years but this has not really solved the problem until I read somewhere that the Norton Firewall might be blocking access when Windows synchronises with a time server.
I think I may have solved the issue now by adding W32tm.exe & W32time.dll to the Allowed Programs in Settings / Network / Smart Firewall / Program Control but I will need to test the situation after the computer has been logged off before midnight and logged on again the next day. Today was the first day that Windows has not reported an errors in the Event Viewer.
XP has an occasional time issue. You may see a notice in event viewer that it has been unable to synchronize with the time servers ....... You may need to ensure that rundll.exe is allowed in program access, as well as system32>w32time.dll to allow the access to the time servers.
I notice that Norton had already created a rundll.exe Firewall Rule but I also added a separate W32tm.exe rule to Program Control as I was not sure if rundll.exe would have included access for W32tm.exe.
Question
I have also added W32Time.dll to the same Program Control but was unsure if this was the right place because all the other Rules had an extension .exe but there was not any .dll rule although Norton allowed me to add it.
Is there another place to set up rules like this for system access or would Norton have a general rule to cover this anyway?
It isn't Norton causing the problem. It will be a systemic problem, or a wrong choice of time server. You are likely to find a considerable number of errors in your event viewer. My XP did not seem to synch time regardless of the server chosen although there was no discrepancy in the system clock. I downloaded a simple app called Dimension 4 which loads and synchs at startup and every few minutes depending on your settings. Choose a time server from the choices based on what is closest to your point.
Set your Norton rules back to default. Add dimension 4 to the program rules, not the firewall rules.
It isn't Norton causing the problem. It will be a systemic problem, or a wrong choice of time server ....
Thanks for your reply.
I have already done this with a little app called Sync-IT. That works brilliantly and does sync at start up with a local server to me but sometimes the Windows time is too far out before that loads and can sometimes create other issues.
I would like to see Windows load the time correctly without any synchronising program at all though.
Please also check to make sure that the Time programs and .dlls are allowed thru your router also. Your ISP may be trying to synch the time also thru the modem/router or modem.
Have you discussed the situation on the Microsoft forum? They have put out so many time related updates over the past few years that one of them may be causing an issue. I never had any time issues at boot and I am not familiar with Synch-It. It is also difficult to tell how early in the boot D4 became active, or whether any change in app would make any difference. I'm afraid that this problem is going to cause you some research time. If Synch-It works, Norton isn't blocking anything that is required to synchronize time.
Did you check for errors in event viewer? There are different errors concerned with time.
Please also check to make sure that the Time programs and .dlls are allowed thru your router also. Your ISP may be trying to synch the time also thru the modem/router or modem.
Hello floplot,
Thanks for your input. I have a very basic BT Voyager 220V Router. The settings are a way out of my league of understanding. It has configuration settings but also requires username and password which I do not have anyway and there does not appear to be an option to add rules.
It is unlikely that the problem is with the router as I have had it for a long time and my system was fine up until around the year 2007 when I guess Microsoft did something with SP2 which started the problem.
I have run SP3 again here (message 53) so any updates that were missing will have been added back again, but the problem still persists.
delphinium wrote: Have you discussed the situation on the Microsoft forum? ....... I'm afraid that this problem is going to cause you some research time. If Sync-It works, Norton isn't blocking anything that is required to synchronize time.....
Did you check for errors in event viewer? There are different errors concerned with time.
Hello delphinium,
Thank you for your help. I havn't discussed the matter on the Microsoft forum although I have spent an excessive amount of time over the last 4 years researching the issue via the Microsoft forum / updates / hotfixes etc.
If Sync-IT worksNorton isn't blocking anything ..... I am not really sure that this is what happens in my case. Sync-It changes the clock time (if it is wrong) when it loads but sometimes the Microsoft time synchronisation with the same server has not worked and throws an error to that effect in Date & Time Properties. Event Viewer has really nothing to report.
It really is an up and down situation. If no major changes have taken place to my registry settings then everthing will load normally but some changes (possibly to the registry) can revert Windows Time back exactly 8 hours or to when I purchased the computer in 2005 or sometimes (but rarely) back to the Microsoft default time back in the year dot.
If the Firewall Rules I have created work tonight then I cannot see what else I can do. A major re-load of Windows XP does not seem justified. I might have a look at Dimension4 to see if it will load before Norton but it really needs to synchronise early before programs start throwing up errors due to the incorrect time.
What have you got loading so early? Have you checked startup items for a conflict. This doesn't appear to be a problem with synchronization, frankly. There is a suggestion on this site that a program conflict during startup could cause this. A method of checking for that is provided.
Have you checked startup items for a conflict...... A method of checking for that is provided.
That was interesting to find another user with the 2005 problem. I think that was a bit of a coincidence though as my 2005 was to do with the date that my computer was loaded with Windows XP at manufacture. I havn't checked startup items for conflict because the method would require the problem to be consistently presented which it is not in my case. For example I tried Dimension 4 and it caused a major problem with Windows Time producing an RPC Error which could not be corrected by re-loading the computer and flatly refused to connect to a server although Dimension 4 itself would. I had to uninstall Dimension 4 and re-start Sync-it and the RPC went back to normal and also the time was correct on Windows boot.
delphinium wrote: Have you checked for a bios update?
No I havn't but have considered doing so. The time was always correct in Bios when I checked it. That is yet another major update that I am unhappy doing on my own. As most of my system is becoming quite old now I think I would rather wait to upgrade my whole computer and Windows platform in the near future than go that route just now. I will think about it again though.
I have noted all your suggestions and will monitor the Event Viewer logs over the next few weeks along with the Windows clock at startup (before Sync-it loads) and make a decision on which way to proceed. The 2005 date problem has not occured in the last few days but the 8 hour behind problem has so I need to see if that continues.
Thanks ever so much for your research and suggestions. It is appreciated.
Wow! That is a pretty bizarre reaction from a little time app. There would appear to be a fairly serious conflict somewhere in the system.
Yes. I don't know what was going on there. I don't think that was a fault of Dimension 4 or a conflict. Perhaps we will never know. I think this is known issue that has not been rectified successfully with the Microsoft updates.
Although Dimension 4 worked fine when loaded it was a complete disaster when uninstalled. When Windows loaded the next day the time setting which had been giving trouble previously was absolutely fine without the intervention of Sync-It, but the Event Viewer showed an error that was generated by Dimension 4 having left behind many registry entries, including the startup entry which was causing Windows to try to find files which didn't exist. I had to remove the startup entry and use my favourite program RegSeeker to find the other offending registry entries and delete them.
I'm using xp pro with xp 3 and all the updates and I don't seem to have a problem with time. The only time I do have a problem is when my CMOS battery needs to be changed. That has happened several times now, but once that has been replaced with the proper CMOS battery for your motherboard, it has been working fine. I don't have any special software for time nor have I had to do any special settings in NIS 2012.I guess it's taken care of between my ISP via the moden/router, being hard wired and also with the regular windows program. I just check every so often to make sure I am still in the correct time zone and that daylight savings time is put on. I do notice an error in the Event Viewer, but that is only trying to synch with the windows date when Windows only checks time l ike once a week and not daily.
I'm using xp pro with xp 3 and all the updates and I don't seem to have a problem with time. The only time I do have a problem is when my CMOS battery needs to be changed. That has happened several times now, but once that has been replaced with the proper CMOS battery for your motherboard, it has been working fine.
I was never convinced that my problem was with the CMOS battery in spite of it being 6 years old, but one day I convinced myself to change it but it was as good as new when I checked the voltage. I replaced it anyway.
I just check every so often to make sure I am still in the correct time zone and that daylight savings time is put on. I do notice an error in the Event Viewer, but that is only trying to synch with the windows date when Windows only checks time l ike once a week and not daily.
When I tested Dimension 4, the Windows applet 'Automatically synchronise with an Internet Time server' had been disabled and even when I enabled it an error message was produced each time it tried unsuccessfully to synchronise.
I don't know now how I manged to correct that problem but it is OK now.
I just check every so often to make sure I am still in the correct time zone and that daylight savings time is put on.
In some instances the Microsoft updates although installed correctly have not taken effect with some users.
I have applied the fix mentioned below and I think it has had some effect .......
Microsoft have had isolated reports that some Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 users may find that their Windows clocks do not move forward for DST, even with fixes applied from 931836 or 928388.
Microsoft reports that the fix for this was to open the Time/Date control panel applet and change the time zone to a new time zone; hit apply, and change it back to the original time zone. This will often correct this problem. This provides confirmation the hotfix was applied, but seems to bypass the aspects involved which prevent the application of the hotfix.
Microsoft have had isolated reports that some Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 users may find that their Windows clocks do not move forward for DST, even with fixes applied from 931836 or 928388.
This is from a problem back in 2007 that only affected users whose registries had been previously modified in a specific way. The article quoted provides an easy fix. Many time zone updates have been released since that time so this is no longer an issue and hasn't been for four years.
Many time zone updates have been released since that time so this is no longer an issue and hasn't been for four years.
That may be the case for the majority but many Microsoft updates although installed correctly are not always effective for some users. When the time occasionally changes back exactly 8 hours at boot then this can be nothing more than a time zone issue.
Delphinium's link below is a prime example of how things do go wrong with Microsoft updates.
Many time zone updates have been released since that time so this is no longer an issue and hasn't been for four years.
That may be the case for the majority but many Microsoft updates although installed correctly are not always effective for some users.
The point I was making is that the particular issue your quote was alluding to is very old and no longer something that users need to be concerned about. You should not have had to apply a fix recently for a limited issue that is that old, as a fully updated system would no longer have that problem.
XP does seem to have a problem with time sync. I been using this free program for years and never had a problem. I also use it on other systems when I see the time is off and it can repair the windows time service.
SendOfJive wrote ..... a fully updated system would no longer have that problem.
That is in an ideal world. I understand the theory but I cannot accept that a fully updated system could not still have my problem, bearing in mind also that I am fully updated.
DaveH wrote ..... XP does seem to have a problem with time sync.
Thanks for that information Dave. Yes, version 2.7.0.3 of Atomic Clock would seem more suitable as version 3 would not work if the time zone or daylight saving settings were not set correctly. Version 3 does not seem to have such good reviews anyway.