Want to auto update computer time daily

[Nolonemo]

I'm running XP Pro on a home network (no domain). I'm looking for a program that will run in the background update the computer clock once a day. I have two requirements:

1. The program must consume a minimum of system resources

2. The program must work under a limited user account (note that limited user accounts cannot change the clock under default settings).

(I had thought of writing a batch file to poll a NIST ITS on each boot, but my internet connection isn't active right at boot time, so I don't think that would work.)

Thanks for any tips.

[jdhurst]

Internet time (in the clock, in Windows XP) does a creditable job. My clock is always correct and I just let the built-in updater do its thing.
... JD Hurst

[damorg]

isn't this already an automatic option in XP via the time service?

Open up the "Date and Time Properties" either from your system tray or from the Control Panel and then go to the "Internet Time" tab....there's an option to synchronize at intervals. The default is once per week.

There are various ways to change the interval:
registry edit: http://www.tweakxp.com/article36948.aspx
vb control widget: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_inet_time.htm

Does that synchronization not work under limited user accounts?

Apologies if you've already explored this and there's a problem with it.

[Nolonemo]

Well, there's sort of a DOH! and a WTF!

DOH because if it's built into XP, then...DOH!

WTF because if that option isn't present on my XP Pro box at work -- but since that's part of a full-blown office network, it may be that the IT guys disabled it, and are pushing the time out over the network from the server.

So I'll check it out when I get home. Do you know if the option is enabled by default? Yesterday I noticed that my computer clock was off by 10 minutes, and I can't figure out how it happened.

Thanks, all.

[jdhurst]

The option is built-in and works on non-Domain machines, but does not work on a Domain-connected machine (you said yours was off Domain). On a Domain, the Server clock controls the local machines, and *it* needs to be on a time server. ... JD Hurst

[FRiC]

In a domain, the stations gets the time from the domain controller, and the domain controller can be set to grab time from an external time server...

One time, my company was gonna bid on a really large government project, and we had to get our bid in within a certain time period. The bidding site was a web app that checks the local clock for the starting and ending times. When the bid started, I noticed the clock on our computers were all off by hours and we couldn't get the bid in, I checked the domain controller, and that clock was off too. Finally I dialed the national computer center that houses the atomic clock, and THAT clock was wrong.

I quickly disabled automatic clock updates and adjusted the clock and got our bid in. I checked the time on TV and even the time on the TV was wrong too. It was like the twilight zone...

[Nolonemo]

Yeah, the autoupdate was on, and worked when I did a manual time update. I can't figure how the clock got so far off in the first place. I have heard that if the time difference is too great, the time update won't work.