Synchronize time with the Internet windows 7. How to synchronize time on a computer with the Internet? NET TIME Command Examples

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


Windows will, according to a given schedule, check the clock with the server specified in the settings. If the compared values ​​do not match, the indicators will be adjusted automatically. Several addresses are already pre-set in the system configuration.

Time synchronization on the computer

To perform a one-time time synchronization, you must use the following sequence of steps. Click with the left mouse button 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 address of the server 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 the computer's time with the server, it is enough to put only one checkmark 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 the date and time settings using command line

Sometimes it is not very convenient to use graphical configuration tools. Sometimes to find desired button for all the variety of open windows can be very difficult. In addition, it is much more convenient for many 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 just use the key combination "Win" + "R". In the window that appears, type "cmd" and press "Enter".

As a result, you will enter the command line. 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, you will need the following commands: w32tm/config/manualpeerlist:[server name to synchronize]/ syncfromflags:manual/reliable:yes will be used for future updates). 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 using the command line seems too complicated for you, you can try other methods. The functionality of the Windows operating system can be greatly enhanced through the use of additional applications. If you are experiencing some difficulties when setting up updates, then an easier option may be suitable for you. you can use special program to make it easier to work with the operating system. Such utilities allow you to automate most of the steps and at the same time require minimal intervention from the user. With the help of 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 period of time is set with which the system will synchronize the date and time value. This period is one week. In some cases it is necessary to reduce this interval. Unfortunately, this cannot be done using the built-in tools. You can fix the situation using the registry.

To start the registry, you must type in the "Run" window command "regedit" and press "Enter". After that, navigate to the HKEYLM branch and expand the SYSTEM\CurrentControl\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient directory there. Next, find the parameter called SpecialPollInterval. The value of 604800 should be written in this parameter. This is how many seconds a week lasts. If you change this number to 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. Too low a value will greatly increase Internet traffic. It's also entirely possible that you'll achieve an IP block by requesting a time sync 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 must enter the characters net stop w32time && net start w32time into the command line.

The local network

If you have several computers in your 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 included in the local network, you must perform the same steps as when synchronizing with the server. To get started, start an NTP server on the computer with which other network members will be synchronized. To do this, you need to go into the registry and edit the following key: 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, enter the line "net stop w32time", and after the completion of the command - "net start w32time". Now given Personal Computer can be used by other users local network to synchronize time. Therefore, it would not hurt to check its performance from time to time. To do this, use the w32tm /query /configuration command. If the value of the "Enabled" parameter is "1", then everything is normal.

It's no secret that even electronics can't achieve absolute accuracy. This is evidenced at least by the fact that after a certain period the computer's system clock, which is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, may differ from real time. To prevent such a situation, it is possible to synchronize the exact time with an Internet server. Let's see how this is implemented in practice in Windows 7.

The main condition under which you can synchronize the clock is the presence of an Internet connection on the computer. There are two ways to synchronize the clock: using standard Windows tools and using a third-party software.

Method 1: Time synchronization using third-party programs

Let's figure out how to synchronize time over the Internet using third-party programs. First of all, you need to select the software to install. One of the best programs in this direction is considered SP TimeSync. It allows you to synchronize the time on your PC with any atomic clock available on the Internet via the NTP time protocol. Let's figure out how to install it and how to work in it.

  1. After launching the installation file, which is located in the downloaded archive, a welcome window of the installer opens. Click Next.

  2. In the next window, you need to determine where on the computer the application will be installed. By default, this is the programs folder on the disk. C. It is not recommended to change this setting unless absolutely necessary, so just click Next.

  3. A new window informs you that SP TimeSync will be installed on your computer. Click Next to start the installation.

  4. The SP TimeSync installation process on the PC starts.

  5. Next, a window opens, which says about the end of the installation. To close it, click Close.

  6. Click the button to launch the application. "Start" in the lower left corner of the screen. Next go by name "All programs".

  7. In the list of installed software that opens, look for the SP TimeSync folder. Click on it for further steps.

  8. The SP TimeSync icon will be displayed. Click on the indicated icon.

  9. This action initiates the launch of the SP TimeSync application window in the "Time". So far, only local time is displayed in the window. To display the server time, click on the button "Get Time".

  10. As you can see, now both local and server time are displayed in the SP TimeSync window at the same time. It also displays metrics such as delta, latency, start, NTP version, accuracy, freshness, and source (in the form of an IP address). To synchronize your computer clock, click "Set time".

  11. After this action, the local time of the PC is brought in accordance with the server time, that is, synchronized with it. All other indicators are reset. To compare local time with server time again, click again. "Get Time".

  12. As you can see, this time the difference is quite small (0.015 sec). This is due to the fact that synchronization was carried out quite recently. But, of course, it is not very convenient to synchronize the time on the computer manually every time. To set up this process automatically, go to the tab "NTP client".

  13. In field "Get Every" you can specify a period of time in numbers, after which the clock will be automatically synchronized. Next, in the drop-down list, it is possible to select the unit of measurement:
    • Seconds;
    • minutes;
    • Watch;
    • Day.

    For example, let's set the interval to 90 seconds.

    In field "NTP Server" if desired, you can specify the address of any other synchronization server, if the one that is set by default ( pool.ntp.org) does not suit you for some reason. In field "Local port" best not to make changes. By default, there is a number «0» . This means that the program connects to any free port. This is the best option. But, of course, if for some reason you want to assign a specific port number to SP TimeSync, you can do this by entering it in this field.

  14. In addition, the same tab contains the accuracy control settings that are available in the Pro version:
    • Try time;
    • Number of successful attempts;
    • Retry limit.

    But since we describe free version SP TimeSync, then we will not dwell on these possibilities. And to further configure the program, move to the tab "Options".

  15. Here, first of all, we are interested in the point "Run at Windows startup". If you want SP TimeSync to start automatically when the computer starts, and not to do it manually every time, then check the box next to the specified item. In addition, you can check the boxes next to the items "Minimize tray icon" and "Run with minimized window". By setting these settings, you will not even notice that the SP TimeSync program is running, since it will carry out all actions to synchronize time at a set interval in the background. The window will need to be called only if you decide to make adjustments to the previously set settings.

    In addition, for users of the Pro version, the ability to use the IPv6 protocol is available. To do this, you just need to check the box next to the corresponding item.

    In field "Language" if desired, you can choose from a list of 24 available languages. By default, the system language is set, that is, in our case, Russian. But English, Belarusian, Ukrainian, German, Spanish, French and many other languages ​​are available.

Thus, we have configured the SP TimeSync program. Now every 90 seconds will happen automatic update Windows 7 time according to the server time, all of this running in the background.

Method 2: Synchronization in the "Date and Time" window

To synchronize the time using the built-in Windows features, you need to perform the following algorithm of actions.

  1. Click on the system clock located in the bottom corner of the screen. In the window that opens, navigate to the inscription "Changing date and time settings".

  2. After starting the window, go to the section "Internet Time".

  3. If this window indicates that the computer is not configured for automatic synchronization, then in this case click on the inscription "Change settings...".

  4. The settings window starts. Check the box next to "Synchronize with an Internet time server".

  5. After performing this action, the field "Server", which was previously inactive, becomes active. Click on it if you wish to select a server other than the default one ( time.windows.com), although this is not required. Choose the appropriate option.

  6. After that, you can perform an immediate synchronization with the server by clicking "Update Now".

  7. After completing all the settings, click OK.

  8. In the window "Date and time" press too OK.

  9. Now your time on the computer will be synchronized with the time of the selected server once a week. But, if you want to set a different automatic synchronization period, then it will not be as easy to do as in the previous method using third-party software. The fact is that the user interface of Windows 7 simply does not provide for changing this setting. Therefore, you will have to make adjustments to the system registry.

    This is a very responsible business. Therefore, before proceeding to the procedure, think carefully about whether you need to change the automatic synchronization interval so much, and whether you are ready to cope with this task. Although there is nothing unusually complicated here. You just need to approach the matter responsibly, in order to avoid fatal consequences.

    If you still decide to make changes, then call the window "Run" by dialing the combination Win+R. In the field of this window, enter the command:

    Click OK.

  10. The system editor window opens. Windows Registry 7. In its left part there are registry keys presented in the form of directories placed in a tree form. Go to section "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" by double-clicking on its name with the left mouse button.

  11. Next, in the same way, go sequentially to the subsections "SYSTEM", "CurrentControlSet" and Services.

  12. A very large list of subsections opens. Look for a name in it W32Time. Click on it. Go to subsections Time Providers and NtpClient.

  13. On the right side of the Registry Editor, subsection parameters are presented. NtpClient. Double click on the option "SpecialPollInterval".

  14. The parameter change window is launched "SpecialPollInterval".

  15. By default, the values ​​in it are set in hexadecimal. The computer works well with this system, but it is incomprehensible to the average user. Therefore, in the block "calculus system" move the switch to position "Decimal". After that in the field "Meaning" number will be displayed 604800 in the decimal system of measurement. This number displays the number of seconds after which the PC clock is synchronized with the server. It is easy to calculate that 604800 seconds equals 7 days or 1 week.

  16. In field "Meaning" parameter change window "SpecialPollInterval" enter the time in seconds after which we want to synchronize the computer clock with the server. Of course, it is desirable that this interval be less than the one set by default, and not more. But it is up to each user to decide for himself. As an example, we will set the value 86400 . Thus, the synchronization procedure will be performed once a day. Click OK.

  17. Now you can close the Registry Editor window. Click the standard close icon in the top right corner of the window.

Thus, we set up automatic synchronization of the local PC clock with the server time once a day.

Method 3: command line

The next way to start time synchronization involves using the command line. The main condition is that before starting the procedure you are logged in with an account name with administrator rights.


You can synchronize time in Windows 7 either using third-party software or using the internal capabilities of the operating system. Moreover, this can be done in various ways. Each user simply has to choose the most suitable option for himself. Although objectively using third-party software is more convenient than using built-in OS tools, it should be taken into account that installing third-party programs creates an additional load on the system (albeit a small one), and can also be a source of vulnerabilities for malefactors.

Setting the date and time on your computer is one of the simplest settings. In general, the time and date setting does not need to be permanently adjusted, as it is enough to set the date and time once and forget about this setting 🙂 But there is a need to correct it, for example, canceling 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, what other settings you can do with time. How to turn off time synchronization, or how to change the date and time display format.

And since there are several ways to access the date and time settings, I will show you a simple way and a more complicated one.

And so, let's get started.

Adjust 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, click once with the left mouse button 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 selecting the correct date and time, press OK. That's it, you have set the date and time.

Additional date and time settings on the computer

Another time and date setting you can do is to 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 the time zone:

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

With the adoption of the law on the abolition of the transition of Russia to winter time, in the automatic transition to winter time and back in windows, the meaning is lost, uncheck the Automatic transition to winter time and back, if something changes, put it back 🙂

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

Another date and time setting that you can perform 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 Synchronize with an Internet time server, then set it and select any server you like from the list, as in the figure:

After setting, click on the OK button!

Another way to access date and time settings

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



You may have noticed that the operating windows system 7 can independently, without your intervention, translate the time (hours). This is especially true when there is a transition from winter time to summer time, and vice versa. This process is called time synchronization.

The operating system receives data from servers. Those, in turn, transmit data to your computer, and if they do not converge, then the time is automatically adjusted. But there are situations when this synchronization does not occur, or occurs but the time on the clock is not set correctly. This is the problem we are going to fix right now.

First, we need to find out what these time synchronization servers are. So that you do not look for them for a long time, I will post a list of available Russian and Ukrainian servers:
For Russia:
timeserver.ru
ntp.mobatime.ru
ntp1.stratum2.ru
ntp2.stratum2.ru
ntp3.stratum2.ru
ntp4.stratum2.ru
For Ukraine:
time.in.ua

Now let's go directly to setting up time synchronization in Windows 7. To do this, right-click on the clock, which is located in the lower right corner of your screen (on the taskbar).


Next press " Changing date and time settings".


The "Date and time" window will open, in which you will see three tabs: " date and time", "Additional hours" and " Internet time". Just the last tab we need. Click on it. In it you will find out that your computer is being synchronized with the server " time.windows.com". Accordingly, if your clock does not show the correct time, then you need to change the server - click on the button" Change settings".


The " Internet time setting". In it you will see a line in which you can enter any other time server than the one that is installed by default. Copy the address of any time synchronization server that is indicated at the beginning of this article and paste it into this line " Server ". And then click " Update now".


After a few seconds, the synchronization process will complete and the time on your computer will change. Then just click "OK" and close the "Date and Time" window.

NET TIME synchronizes the computer clock with another computer or domain. When used without options in a Windows Server domain, displays the current date and time of day set on the computer designated as the time server for this domain. This command allows you to set the NTP time server for the computer.

NET TIME Command Syntax

  1. net time [(\\computername | /domain[:domainname] | /rtsdomain[:domainname])]
  2. net time [\\computername]
  3. net time [\\computername]], where
  • \\computername - indicates the name of the server on which the time should be checked or with which the timer should be synchronized.
  • /domain[:domain_name] - specifies the name of the domain with which the clock is synchronized.
  • /rtsdomain[:domain_name] - Specifies the Reliable Time Server (RTS) domain with which the clock will be synchronized.
  • /set - Synchronizes the clock with the time of the specified computer or domain.
  • /querysntp - displays the name of the NTP (Network Time Protocol) server configured for local computer, or the computer specified in the \\computer_name parameter.
  • /setsntp[:NTP_server_list] - Specifies a list of NTP time servers to use on the local computer.

NET TIME Command Examples

  • net help time- display help for the specified net command;
  • nettime\\PC1- displaying the current server time on the network for PC1;
  • nettime /querysntp- display on the screen the name of the NTP server for the local computer;
  • net time \\Proton /set- synchronization of local computer clock with Proton computer time.

Net time system error 5 access denied

It is often asked why "System error 5. Access denied" appears when using the Net time command. I answer, everything is in the rights of the user under which the command is launched. As an example, I tried to run the command first with local administrator rights on

mob_info