Event ID 30 — Time Service Configuration

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The Windows Time service loads configuration settings from the registry. Windows Time Service uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is based on an atomic time scale and is therefore independent of time zone. Time zone information is stored in the computer's registry and is added to the system time just before it is displayed to the user.

Event Details

Resolve

Update all configuration settings in the registry

The Windows Time service is running from only default values. Try to determine the cause of the issue by ensuring that the W32Time account has permissions to read its configuration settings that are stored in the registry. If any customization was performed on the Windows Time settings in the registry, ensure that the settings are correct. If these steps fail to resolve the issue, unregister and then register the Windows Time service.

To perform these procedures, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. Perform all steps on the computer that is logging the event to be resolved.

Ensure that the Windows Time service can read its registry configuration settings

To ensure that the Windows Time service can read its registry configuration settings:

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 Registry Editor. To open Registry Editor, click Start. In Start Search, type regedit, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. Go to the Config key in the registry by expanding the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time.
3. Right-click the Config key, and then click Permissions. The Permissions for Config dialog box opens.
4. On the Security tab, under Group or user names, ensure that the W32Time account is listed.
5. Click the Advanced button. The Advanced Security Settings for Config dialog box opens.
6. Select the W32Time account in the list of permission entries.
7. Click Edit. The Permission Entry for Config dialog box opens.
8. In the Permission Entry for Config dialog box, ensure that W32Time has the following permissions selected in the Allow column: Query Value, Set Value, Create Subkey, Enumerate Subkeys, Notify, Delete, and ReadControl. If any of those permissions are not set to Allow, select the box next to the appropriate permission in the Allow column. Ensure that there is nothing selected in the Deny column.
9. If you made any changes, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel. The Permission Entry for Config dialog box closes.
10. Click OK in the Advanced Security Settings for Config dialog box.
11. Click OK in the Permissions for Config dialog box.

Use the same procedure to ensure that the W32Time account has the same permissions to the TimeProviders key as well as its subordinate keys (NtpClient and NtpServer). The TimeProviders key is under the same registry path as the Config key.

Confirm Windows Time settings from the registry

If you or another administrator modified (or ran a program that modified) the default values, you can check the configuration of those default values.

To confirm Windows Time settings from the registry:

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 /dumpreg /subkey:config, and then press ENTER. Use the output of the command to verify that the values are configured as expected. If the values are not configured as expected, correct the values in the registry.

Unregister and reregister the Windows Time service

If the previous steps did not resolved the issue, you can try unregistering the service and registering the service.

To unregister and register the Windows Time service:

1. To stop the Windows Time service, at a command prompt, running as an administrator, type net stop w32time, and then press ENTER.
2. To unregister the Windows Time service dynamic-link library (DLL), at a command prompt, type w32tm /unregister, and then press ENTER.
3. To register the Windows Time service DLL, at a command prompt, type w32time /register, and then press ENTER.
4. To start the Windows Time service, at the command prompt, type net start w32time, and then press ENTER.

To learn more about the Windows Time service and related tools, 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 able to update its configuration from the registry:

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. Run the command W32TM /config /update. This command forces a reload of the registry keys that are related to the Windows Time service. The command output indicates whether the loading of the values is successful.

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

Related Management Information

Time Service Configuration

Active Directory