Windows XP - Getting the Correct Hour

All computers necessitate to know the time. Many applications, from sending an email to storing info are reliant on the PC knowing when the event took place. In some environments timing is all the more more crucial where a single second can practise all the difference between profit and loss - just think of the stock exchange. Most computers have internal clocks which are battery backed, so the machine can still keep day when the machine is off. However, are these clocks really that reliable? The answer of progression is no. Computers are mass marketed and designed for multi functions, timing not being that high on the manufacturer"s agenda. The internal clocks (called RTC essential period chips) are normally adequate for residence computing or when workstations run alone. However, when computers run in a network, then a lack of synchronisation can cause problems. It may be a minor item such as an email arriving somewhere before it was sent (according to a PC clock) ho
wever with some interval sensitive transactions and applications, a lack of synchronisation can cause imaginable problems: Imagine turning up at an airport only to find the airline seat you had bought weeks before was in deed sold to somebody else afterwards as their booking agent had a slower clock on their computer! To get on all sides of these problems most computers on a network are synchronised to a single age source using NTP (network date protocol) this lifetime source can be either relative (a computer"s clock or wrist watch) or an absolute generation source like UTC. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) was developed after the emergence of atomic clocks and is a principles time scale used globally, allowing machines all over the area to operate a single time source. Windows XP can easily allot the system clock to exercise UTC by accessing an Internet source for UTC (either: time.windows.com or time.nist.gov). To achieve this, a user merely has to double click the cl
ock on their desktop and adjust the settings in the Internet Time tab. However, Microsoft and other operating system manufacturers strongly advise that external timing references should be used as Internet sources can"t be authenticated, making systems vulnerable to a malicious attack. If you wish to run a network time server Windows XP, then specialist NTP servers are available that can receive a time reference via the GPS satellite system or specialist national transmissions To allow Windows XP to operate as a network time server, the NTP function needs to be switched on. To activate NTP simply find the following subkey in the registry editor (regedit): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesW32TimeTimeProvidersNtpServer Prerrogative click enabled (in the right-hand window) then Modify. Edit the DWORD Value and type 1. Right-click NtpServer, then Modify and in the Edit DWORD Value under Value Data type Peers, then click OK. Exit the registry and set off win
dows time servicing== by clicking Start/Run and typing: net stop w32time && net open w32time.; Then on each personal computer on the network (other than the domain controller which can"t be synchronised with itself) type: W32tm/resync/rediscover. Full text: http://computerandtechnologies.com/computers-and-technology/news_2008-05-19-05-30-06-378.html