National Bureau Of Standards Clock Programs

[LOOP]

I've noticed several "Atomic Clock" download programs on the internet. Is there one in particular that is recommended for setting one's computer to? Thank You.

[PeteF]

I've noticed several "Atomic Clock" download programs on the internet. Is there one in particular that is recommended for setting one's computer to? Thank You.

I'm currently running WebTime 2000 v3.6 . It's FREE.
I ran it successfuly on WinME and WinXP.

I'm not sure if it can be set to automatically sync but I'm not
interested in automatic operation. I prefer to run it manually
every few weeks and see how much my clock is off as it
corrects the time.

A newer v3.8 is available for DL here...
http://www.gregorybraun.com/

---pete---

[casey]

I run Atomic Clock from worldtimeserver.com. It's free and can be set to automatic where it will dial out once a day but I use it manually and tell it when I want it to adjust the clock. I have the icon on the desktop and just click it when I want to set the clock.

[dbarrow]

http://www.worldtimeserver.com/atomic-clock/
freeware Atomic Clock Sync utility

Got this when having problems with daughter's mobo clock.
Works great. Handy little utility. Will do every day sync.
Much faster than the Windows time server.

[PeteF]

Hi All,
This clock sync issue in WinXP is a mystery to me.
It appears that WinXP comes with a feature to automatically
sync the clock and it apears to be enabled but it never seems
to actually do anything. Anyone know what's up with this and
why we seem to need 3rd party software to do the same thing?

---pete---

[dbarrow]

Windows only syncs weekly.
If the (variable) between the CMOS real time clock and the OS get too far out of sync, the Time Service will stop.
There are many dependencies on the Time Service (Scheduler, etc.) which will cease to function (run scheduled backups, etc.) ie: major fubar in the OS!

If you are having problems with the CMOS Real time clock, bad battery or clock chip (daughter's mobo problem), this sync error between the two will just screw up everything.

Third party clock apps, like Atomic Clock, will sync daily.
(much less potential for Time Service to time out due to sync error)

Unfortunately, once daily was not enough for this mobo faulty clock which would fail at random times within the 24 hr period or, certain Windows time related processes would access the CMOS Real Time clock which was locked in at the last current time set and the time would suddenly be off 4-8 hrs and the Time Service would stop due to sync error.

There are some reg keys where you can alter the parameters related to sync. I have yet to figure them all out. They mostly relate to a work station that syncs off the local server. You can't increase the (weekly) Windows time sync with them (or I would have done that).

Suffice to say.. if you have a clock problem, you have a major OS problem!

[PeteF]

Windows only syncs weekly.
If the (variable) between the CMOS real time clock and the OS get too far out of sync, the Time Service will stop.
There are many dependencies on the Time Service (Scheduler, etc.) which will cease to function (run scheduled backups, etc.) ie: major fubar in the OS!


Ok, thanks for the explanation!
---pete---