Content

• To step
• Tips
• Warnings

Your computer's clock may be a few seconds to a few minutes behind or ahead of the correct time. That is why Windows has a time planner for automatically synchronizing your clock, which can be found in the Internet time tab in the date and time settings. The default interval for this process is one week (604,800 seconds). There is no way to change this interval through the user interface, but it should be done through the registry editor (Regedit).

To step

1. Open Internet Time Sync. You do this via Set date and time. To do this, first click on the Control Panel, or via the time in the taskbar, then click on "Change date and time settings ...", then click on the "Internet time" tab.
   • Confirm that the computer is set to sync automatically.
2. Open the Registry Editor. There are several ways to do this, so choose the one that is easiest for you. If you see a User Account Control dialog box, click "Yes".
   • Press the Windows logo and press R. This will open the Run dialog box. Then type regedit and click OK.
   • Alternatively, open the Start menu and type "regedit" in the search field. Click on the Regedit program to open it.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM ControlSet001 services W32Time TimeProviders NtpClient. Click on the arrows next to the folder icons to access the correct directories. You may have to scroll a bit when you get to the SYSTEM key.
4. Right-click the SpecialPollInterval key, and click Modify.
5. Convert the desired time to seconds. You can do this quickly through Google or a website such as Easysurf.
6. Click on Decimal. Then enter your interval in seconds (without commas), and click OK.
7. Close the Registry Editor.
8. Open Set date and time. Click Internet Time, click "Change Settings" and then "Update Now". This will immediately sync your clock. Click OK to close the dialog.
9. Check if your new sync interval is working. If so, the next synchronization of the time will have to take place exactly at the interval from the time it was synchronized last time.

Tips

• A sync interval of one day is usually enough for most users. However, if you need a very accurate time and your clock often deviates, an hour is sufficient. Under no circumstances should you synchronize a time server more than once every 15 minutes.
• If you are interested in how this works, search for "Network Time Protocol".
• If your computer is not synchronizing the correct time, you may need to ask the Time Service to use the SpecialPollInterval setting. Also see this link for instructions.

Warnings

• Keep in mind that it takes a few seconds to sync the time. So it makes no sense to set the interval to one second. This causes unnecessary load on your computer, because the synchronization program is then constantly running.