Time Server Question

[spinemangler]

Hello,

I have an issue that I am having a tough time finding the answer to. My ultimate goal is to have my Windows XP machine sync time to an internal server here on our network. I also would like that server to appear in the list of "internet time servers". I am attempting to do all of this as part of an unattended build. Here is what I have done so far:

Setting the sntp server is easy, and Ive been doing it for years on Windows 2k machines.

I run the "net time /setsntp:timeserver.xxx.com"

I usually just run net stop w32time , followed by a net start w32time

Time is now synced, and I was happy.

A user decided he was going to be sure the time is properly synced, so he opened the "Date and Time Properties" by double clicking the clock.

Strangely the time server is missing from the list, and "time.windows.com" is the default. He used that, and received an error. (probably because the time server port is blocked by the network admins, 123 i think it is)

I figured I could just create a registry entry to add the server into the list, and set it as default automatically. Like this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers]
@="0"
"1"="time.windows.com"
"2"="time.nist.gov"
"0"="timeserver.xxx.com"

The problem is, if you try to sync the time using the "Date and Time Properties" method, I receive an error every time. If I use a command such as "w32tm.exe /resync" it works fine. I am just trying top determine if these two methods are in fact using a different way of syncing, or why the command line method works, and the gui does not when using the exact same server.

If anyone could maybe point me in the right direction, that would be awesome. Its not a huge deal, but i would like a more "complete" setup, where everything looks and works the way it should. I could always stick to the setsntp method, as that has worked for years, but if a user decides to try to sync the clock on their own, it messes up the sntp setting when I do a net time /querysntp.

Thanks in advance for the help!

-Spine