An error occurred while Windows was synchronizing with time.windows.com

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Comment #1 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Try this, chek your cmos time and battery. i had to replace my battery and it fixed it.
Comment #2 (Posted by Zanesvilleman)
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I noticed this this error on 4 of my pcs this morning. And found an easy fix for it for NORTH AMERICAN users Double click the clock and click the Internet Time tab. In the box where it says "time.windows" type in the following IP.... 132.163.4.102 Click update. Then click apply then ok. Time will now be in sync.
Comment #3 (Posted by an unknown user)
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I have two computers in my office. One Synchs okay and this one is coming up with the error. I just did what was listed above and I still am coming up with the error message.
Comment #4 (Posted by Qbert)
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ATTENTION McAFEE SECURITY CENTER USERS: If you have McAfee Security Center v8.x (verified; Vista OS) and/or McAfee Personal Firewall v9.x (verified; Vista OS) and have already tried the above solution(s) � or, for some reason, chose not to � and are still receiving the aforementioned "error .. while ... synchronizing with [time server]," you might try the following: Instructions via McAfee Security Center --------------------------------------- 1> Open McAfee Security. 2a> If you see the phrase "Advanced Menu" (with a horizontal arrow icon immediately to its left) at the bottom of the left-hand panel, click "Advanced Menu." Alternately, if you see the phrase "Basic Menu" (also with similar arrow icon to its left), do nothing. The panel is as it needs to be for these instructions. 3> Now, from the left-hand panel select "Configure." 4> Having done that, look for the following phrases listed inside and at the top of the newly-refreshed left-hand panel: - Security Center - Computer & Files - Internet & Network - E-mail & IM - Parental Controls 5> Select "Internet & Network." 6> From the refreshed page that appears to the right of the left-hand panel, several sections will appear. Look for the section named "Firewall protection is enabled." If the "Firewall protection" section is collapsed, simply press its double arrows (pointing up), and located to the right. (NOTE: If the section reads "Firewall protection is *DISABLED*," this solution probably will not apply to the Time Server error that Windows is displaying.) 7> Click the "Advanced" tab within the "Firewall" section. 8> In the new (pop-up) window that appears, select "System Services" from the [new] left-hand panel. 9> From the refreshed page to the right of the Firewall's left-hand panel, scroll through the Open System Service Port list and find "Network Time Protocol Port 123." If it is not selected/checked, mark it as checked and then click the "Apply" button at the bottom right of the window. *IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO FIND "Network Time Protocol Port 123" in the System Services list, please continue to the next step. Otherwise, your Windows system should now recognize whatever valid time server you select. 10> To create the "Time Protocol Port," click the "Add" Button at the bottom of the System Services window. Several empty fields should appear, including "Program name," "Program category," "Inbound TCP/IP ports," etc. 11> Enter the information below into the respective fields. - Program name: Network Time Protocol Port 123 - Program category: System Ports - Inbound TCP/IP ports: 123 - Outbound TCP/IP ports: 123 - Inbound UDP ports: 123 - Outbound UDP ports: 123 - Do not check "Forward network activity..." unless you know that it applies to your system's network or Windows' Internet Connection Sharing setup. - In the Description field, enter: Standard Network Time Protocol Port - Click the "OK" button. 12> Again, from the System Services area, search again for the port "Program name" you entered in the previous step. Ensure that the "Network Time Protocol Port 123" is checked, and click the "Apply" button at the bottom-right of the window. Your Windows system should now recognize whatever valid time server you select.
Comment #5 (Posted by KC)
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Found the solution to my last comment, on the McAfee FAQ site! In addition to Comment #2, you also need to set up the IP address of the time server in Trusted Sites of McAfee. You can find this IP address by using the 'ping ' command in Start-Run, cmd (command prompt). All PCs on the Windows Internet Connection Sharing network can now see the time server. I wish McAfee would make this easier!!!
Comment #6 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Thanks, but none of that helped. I still can't syncronize with fime.windows.com, or any of the other time sites...
Comment #7 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Didn't work, still get the same error. Disabling firewall didn't work nor starting and stopping time, but it was a good try.
Comment #8 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Followed steps in part 4 and my problem went away immediately. Thanks.
Comment #9 (Posted by an unknown user)
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First 3 I tried myself before googeling :) 4. did it for me and fixed it.
Comment #10 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Following you,but alway didn't work.
Comment #11 (Posted by an unknown user)
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The first solution is the correct one. Enbling w32time or "time services" option under firewall rules will fix the issue. Port 123 needs to be open in order for windows to sync
Comment #12 (Posted by an unknown user)
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comment#2 works for mcafee.
Comment #13 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Followed all the steps. Did NOT fix the problem!
Comment #14 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Useless
Comment #15 (Posted by an unknown user)
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thanx this helped me
Comment #16 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Fourth option solved the problem for me.
Comment #17 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Zanesvilleman's advice of typing 132.163.4.102 were "time.windows" or "time.nist" was enabled me to synch correctly, ty for your post and this website!
Comment #18 (Posted by KristopherUFC)
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Thankyou for your help Zanerman, typing 132.163.4.102 were "time.nist" was enabled me to snych correctly.
Comment #19 (Posted by Greg)
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McAfee was my problem thanks for the post!
Comment #20 (Posted by an unknown user)
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step 4 fixed internet time sync issues on my pc. thanks.
Comment #21 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Comment #2 solved it, thanks!
Comment #22 (Posted by Jack)
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very nice
Comment #23 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Brilliant! I disabled the Symantic Internet Security firewall and the internet time update worked fine. Then I followed your advice to unreg and reg w32tm.exe and after that the original problem was solved. Thanx. Bill in Sweden
Comment #24 (Posted by an unknown user)
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I searched for a solution to the time synchronization a very long time... I could solve it thanks to step 4 in this article.
Comment #25 (Posted by Joe)
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#3 worked like a charm - thanks!
Comment #26 (Posted by Blergle)
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Thank you SO MUCH Qbert!!! This has been driving me nuts for as long as I've had McAfee and I never made the connection. My clock was six minutes off!!
Comment #27 (Posted by an unknown user)
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You were the only site that told me exactly what to look at to resolve my problem...including the Microsoft website that had NO information on the issue
Comment #28 (Posted by KC)
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Comment #2 works for the PC on which McAfee is installed. It still blocks other computers on the local network from synchronizing. I've tried checking 'Forward network activity' as I use Windows Internet Connection Sharing, but it still doesn't work. Time synchronisation on other PCs on the network only works if I turn off the McAfee firewall on the PC connected to the modem!
Comment #29 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Comment #2 solved my problem (Vista, Sophos)
Comment #30 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Thank You Thank You Thank You! This worked, w00t! :D
Comment #31 (Posted by Big Al)
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MacAfee instructions worked a treat for me, many thanks!
Comment #32 (Posted by Kim Bastin)
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Thanks to the author of Comment #2. These meticulous and detailed instructions finally brought an end to the saga of getting WinXP to synchronise its clock with a server.
Comment #33 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Step 4 worked! I had to do it twice but the second time it worked! Thanks a million!
Comment #34 (Posted by an unknown user)
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I have tried many times for months to find out why my clock would not update properly. When I saw that Mcafee could be the problem, I tried that fix and it worked for the first time I guess since I installed McAfee, (a couple of years). Thanks for the information.
Comment #35 (Posted by dave in baltimore)
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comment #2 fixed the problem.
Comment #36 (Posted by an unknown user)
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it worked
Comment #37 (Posted by an unknown user)
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re: comment #2 perfect! one would think MacAfee would have that boxed checked.
Comment #38 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Post #2 is excellent and solved a longstanding problem for me: McAfee was preventing simple Windows time synchronization.
Comment #39 (Posted by an unknown user)
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did not fix jproblem
Comment #40 (Posted by Kyle)
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The IP address and the second comment both helped. Though I still was unable to connect to time.nist.gov. But before I was unable to connect to either server. Now I am able to atleast connect to one of them and wont' have to use the IP address everytime. Thanks
Comment #41 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Didn't work for me. Mine works fine days ago but not now.
Comment #42 (Posted by an unknown user)
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typing w32tm.exe /unregister in the cmd caused the software to be marked for deletion, i needed to do a system restore to get it back. do NOT type w32tm.exe /unregister
Comment #43 (Posted by an unknown user)
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It worked :) I had to go all the way to step 4, and got some kind of access error doing the /unregister, but after that it seemed to work just fine. Due to severe drift, I also updated the polling interval following the information on http://theillustratednetwork.mvps.org/WM2003/TimeSynchronization/TimeSync.html.
Comment #44 (Posted by sylvestor)
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comment #2 & #3 did the trick. It worked. was getting frustrated because i was unable to understand why it was not working. mcafee wasn't even showing a pop up saying it blocked something. Now the synchronization works. thanks a lot :)
Comment #45 (Posted by an unknown user)
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worked like a charm!!!
Comment #46 (Posted by an unknown user)
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this is a common problem that has nothing to do with the server being down
Comment #47 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Register/unregister worked
Comment #48 (Posted by Max)
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It works!!! Easily!!! Thank You.
Comment #49 (Posted by an unknown user)
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IT WORKS!!!Easily!!!
Comment #50 (Posted by Divit11)
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Comment 1 did not work until I followed comment 2 directions. Then it worked moments later.
Comment #51 (Posted by srinivas)
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It worked for me. Great help. Thanks a lot
Comment #52 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Skipped to step 4 and it worked, w32time was never started to begin with! Weird.
Comment #53 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Comment #1 worked like a charm! Thx Zanesvilleman! This worked even though I had my Zonealarm f-wall on.
Comment #54 (Posted by an unknown user)
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stupid firewall
Comment #55 (Posted by an unknown user)
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comment #2 fixed the problem; mcafee again...
Comment #56 (Posted by Sean)
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Another thing that can break this is if your time and date are too far off. The person that installed my vista set the day incorrectly, so the time was out by more than the limit. I found the error in the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, Windows Logs, System.
Comment #57 (Posted by an unknown user)
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After doing the steps, Windows did sync the time.
Comment #58 (Posted by Manny)
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When I put in 132.163.4.102 I still got an error. Turns out that was because my date and time was off by more than a year after getting a new motherboard. The date and time can't be too far off to synchronize. Once I manually fixed it to a close time it worked.
Comment #59 (Posted by an unknown user)
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worked for me
Comment #60 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Step 4 to unregister / reregister w32time fixed my issue
Comment #61 (Posted by an unknown user)
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no proper advice how to fix it if time.nist.gov is also down (which it is for me) time.nist.gov is an obvious other choice since included with XP as default.
Comment #62 (Posted by GT)
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I've been having this problem since I've had this computer. Ive done all of the steps except #3 and none of them have worked. Let's hope #3 works.
Comment #63 (Posted by an unknown user)
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A million thanks Obert... that was indeed the problem. One would think that McAfee would realize that access to the government time sites are needed.
Comment #64 (Posted by an unknown user)
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all the suggestions here didn't fix my issue
Comment #65 (Posted by an unknown user)
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I did everything the article said, and still my clock will not syncronize.
Comment #66 (Posted by an unknown user)
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tnksssssssss
Comment #67 (Posted by an unknown user)
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yay!
Comment #68 (Posted by an unknown user)
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striaght answer
Comment #69 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Answer #3 was what my problem was. (My firewall was blocking W32Time, so I was able to synchronize my time after disabling my firewall) Doesn't McAfee have a fix for this?
Comment #70 (Posted by an unknown user)
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No#4 worked, thanks you are a champion
Comment #71 (Posted by an unknown user)
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This very helpfull, and its work !
Comment #72 (Posted by an unknown user)
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The article itself is well written and straightforward. It did not completely fix the problem. I did find a fix that may help people below. A step 5 if you will: -- 5. Check that the manual setting of time is close enough to the actual time in your time zone. Mine was too far off (1 day or so). It is essential that you do step 1. above (unblock port 123) first. -- I never would have found out about that if I hadn't run the time sync utility from the command line. It gives better diagnostics. It said (paraphrasing): time failed because the time difference was too big. Kudos to this article: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/sync-your-clock-with-internet-time-servers-from-the-vista-command-prompt/ It may also be useful to add in Step 1 that the port has to be specifically added to the firewall. The time service does not appear in the default list. PS: Note to MS: clear simple and detailed error messages like the one on the command line GOOD. Generic error messages like the one on the GUI FRUSTRATING AND USELESS. PPS: BTW (offtopic), how about a better cut-and-paste mechanism for the command-line prompt in W7? TIA!
Comment #73 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Or use tock.usno.navy.mil or pool.ntp.org instead of time.windows.org.
Comment #74 (Posted by Tyw7)
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Use the following servers instead of time.windows.com tock.usno.navy.mil (This server is 1 second later than the accurate time) pool.ntp.org (I recommend this server because it is closer to the accurate time)
Comment #75 (Posted by an unknown user)
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step 4 worked perfectly for me. my system stopped syncing quite some time ago. i have xp pro sp2. i don't know what i would do without google to lead me to relevant information :)
Comment #76 (Posted by an unknown user)
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usless
Comment #77 (Posted by an unknown user)
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I've been searching for a solution for over 6 months, and nothing fixed this except for this article. THANK YOU
Comment #78 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Thanks Obert for your comment #3 that helped!
Comment #79 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Qbert's solution did the trick for me. THANKS!
Comment #80 (Posted by an unknown user)
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qbert comment #3 steps 1-10 worked for me. Thankyou!
Comment #81 (Posted by Neil)
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"Another thing that can break this is if your time and date are too far off. The person that installed my vista set the day incorrectly, so the time was out by more than the limit. I found the error in the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, Windows Logs, System." HA CANT BELIEVE THAT WAS MY PROBLEM!!!! Seems windows should be able to figure that out on its own. Gosh. thanks
Comment #82 (Posted by Slow Joe)
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THANKS QBERT! That worked like a charm!
Comment #83 (Posted by an unknown user)
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does not error occured
Comment #84 (Posted by an unknown user)
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did that but still nogo - disabled firewall, disabled nortons, tried alt time sites, then gave up.
Comment #85 (Posted by an unknown user)
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fixed me up
Comment #86 (Posted by an unknown user)
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The deregister and register worked perfectly. Thanks!
Comment #87 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Worked Great on XP. Got rid of error
Comment #88 (Posted by an unknown user)
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solve the problem on the first try!!
Comment #89 (Posted by an unknown user)
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Those are Obvious solutions. Anyone would do that anyway. Still didn't fix the problem.
Comment #90 (Posted by an unknown user)
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It does not answer the question.

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