NTP/W32Time Issues

ok - what's listed under NTPServer is time.windows.com,0x1

I'm assuming that's the external time source that's being used.

So why am I getting this error message then?

Yes that is default windows time server. Not suggesting that is the problem, but there were issues with that being off a while ago. I believe it was fixed. You might want to try using:  time.nist.gov

What is the event ID # of the W32Time error you are getting, in the event log.  Common by they way to get one or two of these a week, but shouldn't be frequent.

event id 12 and 36. 12 is the most frequent and I've been getting 1 event logged almost everyday.

I would change the time server from the Windows one.
A #12 error indicates it is not synchronized with an external time server, and #36 basically the same, it cannot contact the external time server. I read a couple of articles suggesting the Microsoft time server was not very reliable, I don't know how accurate that is.
Maybe also review all configurations in the following article
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;223184
 and in the link provided earlier
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Configuring-Windows-Time-Service.html

There is also the possibility your firewall is blocking the traffic. NTP requests are outgoing and most firewalls allow outgoing connections by default, however if the firewall has been locked down it could be blocking the required NTP port, which is 123. Should allow TCP and UDP, as I am not sure which is used. Seems to me NTP uses TCP and SNTP uses UDP

The "firewall" currently in place is a very crude one at best and offers a loose interpretation of the word "firewall". Shouldn't I technically be able to ping that time server? B/c I can't - which means it's either down or being blocked - and I don't think it's being blocked.

So if I'm going to change it, how would I go about doing that? I know I can do it via regedit or cmd line....not sure how though.

Interesting, is it time.nist.gov that you cannot ping? Not being able to ping a server is common as it is protection from Denial of Service attacks, but time.nist.gov  is ping-able.
Ping does not use port 123 so that doesn't indicate that port is blocked.
It can also be a software firewall that blocks traffic.

If you wish to make changes, do so in the registry editor. I would recommend backing up the Key/s first though. See the following on editing, backing up and restoring registry entries:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

the entry listed in the reg is time.windows.com - didn't even think about the ICMP.

Trust me...no software firewall here...not yet anyways.

time.windows.com won't respond to ping for me either. It does resolve to an IP.
I would be tempted to change it regardless.

got an event 36 today. Could sync clock b/c none of the time providers provided a usable time stamp.

Any significance there?

I'm in the process of updating the NTP server in use.

Thanks for the help...looks like I got it straightened out.

Glad to it's resolved. I find I get random, occasional errors, where the time server cannot be connected, but few and far between. Sometimes a couple a week and other times none for a month. As I recall it changes the next refresh period to a shorter time frame when the server cannot be contacted. So long as it is set up right and the time server remains active it's a pretty stable feature.

Thanks Haze0830
--Rob