Event ID 140 — Time Service Advertisement

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The Windows Time service (W32time) provides time source advertisements that clients can use to synchronize their clocks. 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 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

Ensure that the computer is a domain controller

To resolve this issue:

• Ensure that the computer reporting Event ID 140 is a domain controller.
• Ensure that the Netlogon service running on the computer that is reporting the event shows that the computer is a domain controller.
• If the computer is not a domain controller, restart the Netlogon service on that computer.

Perform all of the following procedures on the computer that is reporting Event 140.

To perform these procedures, you must have membership in Domain Admins, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

Ensure that the computer reporting this event is a domain controller

To ensure that the computer is a domain controller:

1. Open Server Manager. To open Server Manager, click Start. In Start Search, type Server Manager, 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. In the Programs list, click Server Manager.
3. In the console tree, double-click Roles.
4. A list of roles that are assigned to the server appears in the details pane. Ensure that Active Directory Domain Services is listed. If this role does not appear, determine whether this computer should be a domain controller. If the computer should be a domain controller, consider restoring the computer from backup or installing Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).

Ensure that the Netlogon service is reporting the computer as a domain controller

To ensure that the Netlogon service is reporting the computer as a domain controller:

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. Type **nltest /dclist:**domainname, and then press ENTER. Substitute the actual name of the domain for domainname in the command. For example, if the domain is contoso.com, type nltest /dclist:contoso.com, and then press ENTER.
3. Ensure that the output from the command lists the name of the computer reporting Event 140. If not, restart the Netlogon service.

Restart the Netlogon service

To restart the Netlogon service:

1. Open a command prompt as an administrator.
2. Type net stop netlogon & net start netlogon, and then press ENTER.
3. Try the **nltest /dclist:**domainname command again.
4. If the computer still does not appear in the list of domain controllers, type dcdiag, and then press ENTER to further troubleshoot the issue with this domain controller.

Use the Dcdiag tool to troubleshoot issues with the domain controller as needed. To learn more about using Dcdiag for troubleshooting domain controllers, see Dcdiag Overview (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=93660).

Verify

When the Windows Time service is advertising time as a time source, Event ID 139, "The time service has started advertising as a time source," is logged in Event Viewer.

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

Related Management Information

Time Service Advertisement

Active Directory