Time Synchronizing

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For some reason time synchronization now always fails when I try it at home, using a Linksys ADSL Wifi Modem, with both my desktop system and my notebook. This happens on all servers, with the error saying the peer is unreachable. But in the office, the same notebook synchronizes OK with a similar ASDL Wifi modem and the same ISP.

I have tried at home using the nistime program from NIST. This works OK, as long as I use the TCP port 13, but fails with the UDP port 123 (NTP). I could not get AboutTime to work at all.

I have tried turning off the (Windows) firewall; no difference, and in fact no report of failed connection there. I have tried turning off the modem firewall, again no difference, and again no report of problems. I have tried stopping and restarting the Windows time server, but synchronization still fails.

Not sure how long this has been going on, because I have just returned home after three weeks away, and I can’t remember the last time I checked the time synchronization – may be a couple of months back. Might it have been affected by a recent Windows update concerning Daylight Saving Time (although that does not affect me here)?

Not a huge problem, since I can use nistime (although AboutTime seems to imply that using TCP is less accurate than NTP). But I’m intrigued! Anyone any ideas?

Chris

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For some reason time synchronization now always fails when I try it at home, using a Linksys ADSL Wifi Modem, with both my desktop system and my notebook. This happens on all servers, with the error saying the peer is unreachable. But in the office, the same notebook synchronizes OK with a similar ASDL Wifi modem and the same ISP.

I have tried at home using the nistime program from NIST. This works OK, as long as I use the TCP port 13, but fails with the UDP port 123 (NTP). I could not get AboutTime to work at all.

I have tried turning off the (Windows) firewall; no difference, and in fact no report of failed connection there. I have tried turning off the modem firewall, again no difference, and again no report of problems. I have tried stopping and restarting the Windows time server, but synchronization still fails.

Not sure how long this has been going on, because I have just returned home after three weeks away, and I can’t remember the last time I checked the time synchronization – may be a couple of months back. Might it have been affected by a recent Windows update concerning Daylight Saving Time (although that does not affect me here)?

Not a huge problem, since I can use nistime (although AboutTime seems to imply that using TCP is less accurate than NTP). But I’m intrigued! Anyone any ideas?

Chris

See How to configure an authoritative time server in Windows XP & How to synchronize the time with the Windows Time service in Windows XP for details on configuring the Windows Time Service.

Joe

--Joe

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See How to configure an authoritative time server in Windows XP & How to synchronize the time with the Windows Time service in Windows XP for details on configuring the Windows Time Service.

Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the suggestions. But I admit that I am rather loath to implement these quite complex routines without being a little more sure that the problem is with my system. Given that my note book refuses to synchronize when accessing the ‘net at home, but does synchronize when accessing the ‘net in the office, I’m a bit doubtful that the problem lies in the computer itself. Am I missing something?

Chris

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For some reason time synchronization now always fails when I try it at home

When it fails at home, I know I need to investigate what is being stopped by the latest software firewall I have installed!

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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When it fails at home, I know I need to investigate what is being stopped by the latest software firewall I have installed!

BATcher,

Thanks for your thoughts. However, I have tried with both Windows and modem firewall disabled. To my knowledge, I have not installed any other software (or hardware) firewall.

Could the firewalls be restricting access to UDP port 123 even though they are disabled? Would they not report this if they were?

Chris

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Thanks for your thoughts. However, I have tried with both Windows and modem firewall disabled. To my knowledge, I have not installed any other software (or hardware) firewall.
Could the firewalls be restricting access to UDP port 123 even though they are disabled? Would they not report this if they were?

If you have temporarily disabled them, the answer has to be No.
Try a command-line program like CMDTIME
Here:s an old BATch file I used…[

Code:

@echo off
title
echo +---------+
echo I NTPtime I  synchronise PC time with Internet Time Servers
echo +---------+	(requires internet connection, obviously!)
::										   John Gray  17SEP2007,30NOV2007
echo.

:: note: could use NET TIME /SETSNTP: but no stats!
:: note: CMDTIME$.EXE is CMDTIME3.EXE with a couple of spelling corrections

setlocal
:: go for the UK pool of NTP time servers
set timeservers=uk.pool.ntp.org

:: ensure that there's an internet connection and the pool is PINGable
ping -n 1 %timeservers% | findstr "TTL=" > NUL
if %errorlevel% EQU 0 goto dosync

:: PING failed
echo %~n0: unable to PING  the required Internet Time Server or Pool
echo %~n0:   please check that the PC has an internet connection
echo %~n0:   and try again...
goto finish
::--------------------

:dosync
:: sync can be followed by a list of 10 or fewer NTP time servers
cmdtime$ /t /m:6000000 sync %timeservers%
::	   I  I		  I	I
::	   I  I		  I	- one or more time servers or a pool
::	   I  I		  - synchronise with time server(s)
::	   I  - maximum allowable correction (minutes) - here ~11.4 years 
::	   - display server's response time in ms

if errorlevel 1 echo %~n0: received errorlevel %errorlevel% from CMDTIME

:finish
endlocal
ping -n 11 127.0.0.1 > nul

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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If you have temporarily disabled them, the answer has to be No.
Try a command-line program like CMDTIME
Here:s an old BATch file I used…[
…

BATcher,

Thanks for the suggestion. After some tweeking, I did get this batch file to run, but it returned “time: received errorlevel 1 from CMDTIME” (I changed this from CMDTIME$ since I couldn’t identify the spelling corrections referred to).

Not sure where to go now, or even if it is worth sweating…

Chris

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Thanks for the suggestion. After some tweeking, I did get this batch file to run, but it returned “time: received errorlevel 1 from CMDTIME” (I changed this from CMDTIME$ since I couldn’t identify the spelling corrections referred to).

Sorry, the ‘spelling corrections’ referred to were made by me on the executable file using a binary file editor!
The errorlevel 1 means, like all the other things you’ve tried, that the information is being blocked either leaving your PC or before the answer gets back to your PC, and the only explanation (AFAICS) must be firewall-related…

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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BATcher,

Thanks for your thoughts. However, I have tried with both Windows and modem firewall disabled. To my knowledge, I have not installed any other software (or hardware) firewall.

Could the firewalls be restricting access to UDP port 123 even though they are disabled? Would they not report this if they were?

Chris

Is this a work notebook? If an IT department configured the PC, it could be looking for a work server that is a time server. That is typical with a Windows domain environment.

Joe

--Joe

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Is this a work notebook? If an IT department configured the PC, it could be looking for a work server that is a time server. That is typical with a Windows domain environment.

Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the thought. No, it is a personal notebook, which I configured myself. I am the IT Department

Chris

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Hey Chris, this is probably out in left field somewhere, but since the stuff you’ve said seems to eliminate THE computer (home vs. work, firewalls, modems, etc.) do you think there could be something up with your home ISP? I can’t for the life of me figure why, it’s just that it looks like you’ve tried everything else… I dunno…

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Hey Chris, this is probably out in left field somewhere, but since the stuff you’ve said seems to eliminate THE computer (home vs. work, firewalls, modems, etc.) do you think there could be something up with your home ISP? I can’t for the life of me figure why, it’s just that it looks like you’ve tried everything else… I dunno…

Thanks, Al. Not sure where left field is, but like you I’m equally perplexed. Given that I am still able to set the time using nistime, I don’t think it’s worth spending more time on it, other than occasionally trying the built-in routine to see if it’s changed its mind, and continuing to hope for a sudden thought while in bath (STWIB). If there are any further developments, I’ll post them…

(There ought to be a ‘head-scratching’ Smiley!)

Chris

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(There ought to be a ‘head-scratching’ Smiley!)

Like this?

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Like this?

Hans,

Exactly! But why can’t I find that in the emoticons box? What am I missing?

(as usual!)

Chris

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Also see see [post=”762559″]Post 762559[/post] and [post=”762564″]Post 762564[/post] for documents explaining how to get the old smileys.

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Or, outside WOPR there’s:

. . . or . . .

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It’s not in the current software’s icon list. Rather, it’s in the “old” folder of WOPR flags and smilies which you can bookmark here:

Index of /S.

As long as you have an idea of the name you want to use, it’s easy to find one with a Ctrl-F or eyeballing, i.e. “scratch”

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Thanks, Al and Hans. Haven’t been monitoring Lounge Matters. Perhaps I should start…

Chris

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Does your modem have any logging that can be turned on, so you can see if it is blocking packets related to this activity?

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Does your modem have any logging that can be turned on, so you can see if it is blocking packets related to this activity?

Stuart,

Modem logging is on. There are no entries in the Firewall log, whether the modem firewall is enabled or disabled. The only entries are in the Access Log:

When using the Windows process to (attempt to) sychronize to time.windows.com, the Access entry is:

UDP: From: 192.168.1.64:123 To: 207.46.197.32:123

With nistime. the Access entry is:

TCP: From: 192.168.1.64:2129 To: 64.113.32.5:13

Don’t know where this takes me. I kinda suspect that perhaps the problem is in the ADSL provider, although the ADSL provider is the same at both places (government telecom company). This is not the ISP, and the ADSL exchange (if that is the right term) covering my home is different from that at the office. I have on occasion had problems connecting with the DNS server not translating the URL. Again, when this has occurred at home, it has been OK in the office. (Interestingly. the domains ‘blocked’ by this have mainly been anti-virus sites, such as Spybot and MalwareBytes; could they have been hit by a virus?)

Chris

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A closure to this problem: yesterday my ADSL connection went out for about 18 hours. I was informed the problem was with the local telecoms exchange or server or whatever they use to provide ADSL service. Since the service has come back up, I have been able to synchronize normally. So it does seem like my final suspicion that the problem was external in the ASDL system was correct. But I’m sure it will be impossible to prove, or to determine what exactly was wrong…

Chris

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A closure to this problem: yesterday my ADSL connection went out for about 18 hours. I was informed the problem was with the local telecoms exchange or server or whatever they use to provide ADSL service. Since the service has come back up, I have been able to synchronize normally. So it does seem like my final suspicion that the problem was external in the ASDL system was correct. But I’m sure it will be impossible to prove, or to determine what exactly was wrong…

Chris

At least it is working now.

Thanks for posting back.

Joe

--Joe

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