Event ID 34 — Local Time Synchronization

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

The Windows Time service (W32time) synchronizes local time with a time source. The Windows Time service on a domain controller can be configured as either a reliable or an unreliable time source. The Windows Time service running on a client will attempt to synchronize its time source with servers that are indicated as being reliable. The Windows Time service can configure a domain controller within its domain as a reliable time source, and it synchronizes itself periodically with this source.

Event Details

Resolve

Correct the time difference to within acceptable thresholds

The time source and the local system time are skewed beyond the acceptable thresholds. Resynchronize the time clocks between the two systems. Perform the following procedure on the computer that is logging the event to be resolved.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To resynchronize the time clocks between the time source and the local system clock:

Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry might severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data.

1. Open a command prompt as an administrator. To open a command prompt as an administrator, click Start. In Start Search, type Command Prompt. At the top of the Start menu, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. At the command prompt, type W32TM /resync, and then press ENTER.

If resynchronizing the time clocks manually does not resolve the issue, you can adjust the local computer's MaxAllowedPhaseOffset value in the registry under the following path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config. In the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) environment, clients are configured to use a setting of 300 seconds (five minutes), which is a default setting that is part of the Kerberos security model. Before you change the registry for the Windows Time service configuration, see Windows Time Service Tools and Settings (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=42984).

Verify

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To verify that the Windows Time service is synchronizing correctly:

1. Open a command prompt as an administrator. To open a command prompt as an administrator, click Start. In Start Search, type Command Prompt. At the top of the Start menu, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. At the command prompt, type W32TM /resync, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type W32TM /query /status, and then press ENTER. The command displays the status of the Windows Time service synchronization. The Last Successful Sync Time line of the output displays the date and time that you ran the W32TM /resync command in the previous step. Also, check the computer name that is shown as the Source. This should be the name of a domain controller (or administrator-configured time server).

To confirm that the Windows Time service was synchronized successfully with its time source when you ran the W32TM /resync command, verify that Event ID 35 appears in the Event Viewer.

For more information about the Windows Time service, see Windows Time Service Technical Reference (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=25393).

Related Management Information

Local Time Synchronization

Active Directory