How to Sync a Windows 2000 Server With Time.Nist.Gov

Time synchronization to an Internet time server can help keep a Windows 2000 network running smoothly.

Accurate time synchronization is important on a Microoft Windows 2000 network for a variety of reasons. Authentication and Active Directory synchronization both rely on accurately synchronized time for proper functionality. Event Log timestamps must be accurate for troubleshooting purposes to properly sequence a series of events. The Windows Time service maintains time synchronization on a Windows 2000 sever. One method of configuring the Time service is to have it query an authoritative Internet-based time server such as time.nist.gov.

Instructions

Configure a Windows 2000 Server to Synchronize With Time.Nist.Gov

1. Click "Start", then "Run", then type "regedit" in the dialog box and click the "OK" button.

2. In the left side pane of Registry Editor double-click on "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE," "SYSTEM," "CurrentControlSet," "Services," "W32Time" and then click on "Parameters."

3. Double-click the "TYPE" entry in the right side.

4. Type "NTP" in the Value box and click the "OK" button.

5. Double-click the "ReliableTimeSource" entry in the right side.

6. Enter "1" in the Value box and click the "OK" button.

7. Double-click the "LocalNTP" entry in the right side.

8. Enter "0" in the Value box and click the "OK" button.

9. Double-click the "NtpServer" entry in the right side.

10. Enter "time.nist.gov" in the Value box and click the "OK" button.

11. Open a Windows Command Prompt window by clicking the "Start" button, clicking "Run," typing "cmd" into the dialog box and clicking the "OK" button.

12. Type "net stop w32time && net start w32time" and press the "Enter" key on the keyboard.

13. Close the command prompt window.

Tips & Warnings

• The time.nist.gov server can be very busy servicing requests. Consider setting Windows 2000 Server to synchronize with one of the less-busy time servers listed at http://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi#.

• Set the Time service only on the server at the highest level of the Active Directory hierarchy. The other Windows-based computers on the network will automatically synchronize with this time. The primary domain controller operations master that resides at the root of the Active Directory forest is usually the best server to configure the Time service.

• Enter more than one time server as a form of redundancy by separating them with spaces in the "NtpServer" registry entry.

• Microsoft recommends to set the Time Service to synchronize with an internal hardware clock rather than an Internet-based time server.

• Do not change any other registry settings because doing so could damage your operating system.

• Windows 2000 is no longer supported by Microsoft as of July 13, 2010.

References

• Microsoft: How to configure an authoritative time server in Windows 2000
• NIST: NIST Internet Time Servers
• Microsoft: Extended Support for Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Ends on July 13, 2010