Windows - Clock is Showing the Wrong Time

Windows - Clock is Showing the Wrong Time

I have had a persistent problem where the clock on my Windows PC shows the wrong time, despite being corrected on a daily basis.

I have tried sooooooo many different methods to fix this none have worked. I have listed them here because one of them might work for you. There are people on forums who have spent many many hours trying to fix this. I can fix most stuff, but I couldn't fix this "properly". Please see green highlighted below for solution.

0 - Net Time (My "Solution")

After spending around 16 hours trying to fix this problem (please see below list) I came across a suggestion to use NetTime. It is a very small neat program that runs as a service, and instantly fixed the problem. If I had the same problem on another machine I would start here and spend the saved time cycling, walking or playing nerf with my son.

http://www.timesynctool.com/ - Link

Install this and all your troubles will be far away. I was so happy I donated some money to these chaps, but it is free software.

1 - Time Syncing 

Date and Time Settings > Internet Time > Change Settings

In this window you can selected automated syncing. Now I have had this enabled since I owned this PC (10 years) and never been a problem, but I disabled to see if it was the problem. It is not. But others have reported that is could be.

If you click the "update now" button this is the quickest way to put your date and time right, don't bother setting it manually!

2 - Windows Time Service

Type "Services" in the search box, open scroll down the list of services find "Windows Time". This service runs a sync between all computer on network. Somehow a master computer is chosen in the network, and perhaps you computer is syncing time with a computer with the wrong time.

Switch this serice to disabled. If it doesn't help, then you can always enable it in a few days time.

3 - Power Settings

This problem started after I switched from a power management plan which included hibernation / sleep, back to an always on power management plan.

I have read that hard disk turning off can cause a time problem, so choose advanced power settings and set "Turn Off Hard Disk" to "Never".

4 - CMOS Battery

There is a little battery inside you PC, Laptop somewhere that keeps the time keeping elements of you computer powered when it is not plugged in. If you computer keeps time whilst plugged in, but show a weird time and date when you plug in back in then perhaps it is a dead CMOS battery.

A time of 12:00 or 0:00 on start up is a sure sign of a dead CMOS battery.

5 - Screen Savers 

Some screen savers take a "picture" of the desktop and distort it to create screen saver effect. Clock will remain fixed time whilst screen saver is active.

6 - BIOS

When you switch on you PC you will often see a little message say "Press F10 to Enter Setup" select this option, to enter BIOS settings. Be careful not to change anything.

Navigate around using the arrow keys, looking for time and date settings, check they are correct.

7 - W32tm.exe

 "W32tm.exe is used to configure Windows Time service settings. It can also be used to diagnose problems with the time service. W32tm.exe is the preferred command line tool for configuring, monitoring, or troubleshooting the Windows Time service."


Perform the steps mentioned below and see if it helps.
a: Press Windows key + X. (or open command prompt)
b: Then click command prompt(admin)
c: Now type the following commands and hit enter:
net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister

w32tm /register

net start w32time

w32tm /resync

Restart the computer to test the issue again.

8 - Change Time Zones

Change to a different time zone, apply changes, and then change it back to your normal time zone again.  

9 - Scheduled Task to Update Internet Time (Hammer Time)

I created this Windows Internet Time Update Program, which you can download here. Save this some where, and then set up a scheduled task to run it every time you start you computer, or everyday at a certain time. If the problem is very bad you can scheduled the task to run every 30 minutes, effectively updating your time to a server of your choice, every 30 minutes or less, hammering the problem in to submission. Boom.

You can also use the

10 - File Transfer Time Pause

I have heard that windows pauses time during file transfers. Is it something to do with this mechanism.

11 - Corrupt File System

You could run file checker. (Built in to windows) you dont need to download anything:

Windows 7

1. Click the Start button and in the search bar, type cmd.
2. Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator.
3. Click Yes on the User Account Control (UAC) prompt that appears, and once the blinking cursor appears, type SFC /scannow and press the Enter key.
4. System File Checker starts and checks the integrity of system files.

Windows 8/8.1/10

1. From the desktop, press the Win+X hotkey combination and from the menu select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Click Yes on the User Account Control (UAC) prompt that appears, and once the blinking cursor appears, type SFC /scannow and press the Enter key.
3. System File Checker starts and checks the integrity of system files.

If you find corrupt files, you might try to repair them.

12 - System Error 1290

When trying step 7 above I got the below message: 

C:\Windows\system32>net start w32time

System error 1290 has occurred.

The service start failed since one or more services in the same process have an

incompatible service SID type setting. A service with restricted service SID typ

e can only coexist in the same process with other services with a restricted SID

 type. If the service SID type for this service was just configured, the hosting

 process must be restarted in order to start this service.

This post suggests using the below added underlined command line prompt:

.\net stop w32time
.\w32tm /unregister
.\w32tm /register
.\sc config w32time type= own
.\net start w32time
.\w32tm /config /update /manualpeerlist:"0.pool.ntp.org,1.pool.ntp.org,2.pool.ntp.org,3.pool.ntp.org",0x8 /syncfromflags:MANUAL /reliable:yes
.\w32tm /resync

You may then get It results  "Access is denied (0x80070005)"

 ..  . . the storey continues. 

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