I have used this program for years in my Win98SE machine. I can't get it to run at start up on the XP machine.

This is the Time Sync program from Analog X: http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/ats.htm

Edit: I have a feeling this program is not compatible with XP. Therefore, any suggestions on good programs as an substitute?

marti

XP already has time syncing built right in and it's probably already doing it's thing for you.

Just double click on your clock and you'll see it on the Internet Time tab. You can click Update Now to manually synchronize the time.

You can add additional time servers here (but Microsoft's time server works fine):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers

Grogan

Here is a nice small program to do what you want.

Nisttime 32













Dell Dimension 4550,Win XP Home SP2, 2.4 GHZ P4, 512MB DDR PC2700 Ram, ATI Rage 128(32MB),Cable
Dell Inspiron 5160,XP Home SP2,2.8 GHZ,512MB Ram,32MB Video

Why install something else? Like Grogan said, XP already has a time sync.

Because the ones windows furnishes rarely work on my 2 computers and other people's computers I work on...Always return couldn't connect or whatever......







Dell Dimension 4550,Win XP Home SP2, 2.4 GHZ P4, 512MB DDR PC2700 Ram, ATI Rage 128(32MB),Cable
Dell Inspiron 5160,XP Home SP2,2.8 GHZ,512MB Ram,32MB Video

Then add a different time server that does work. Kind of short sighted that Microsoft doesn't have functionality in that dialog to add them, but it's a very easy registry edit. Just add a new string value (the value names are a numbered list) and make the data of the value the hostname of the time server. After adding additional time servers, they will be available in the drop list. This is just an example... folks can edit the text file I'm attaching and rename it to .reg to add appropriate servers. The @= is the default value, and can be set to the desired number to set a time server as default, or you can just wait and choose it from the drop list.

Can't paste directly from here because forum doesn't allow square brackets to display. I'm using braces instead.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers}
@="1"
"1"="time.windows.com"
"2"="time.nist.gov"
"3"="ntp-2.cede.psu.edu"
"4"="ntp3.cs.wisc.edu"
"5"="hydrogen.cert.ucr.edu"
"6"="ntppub.tamu.edu"
"7"="ntp0.cornell.edu"
"8"="nss.nts.umn.edu"
"9"="tock.cs.unlv.edu"
"10"="ntp2c.mcc.ac.uk"

You can find lists of public ntp servers that are maintained.

http://ntp.isc.org/bin/view/Servers/StratumTwoTimeServers

Try to use stratum 2 time servers (stratum 1 servers should be for other ntp servers to synchronize with, not for client connections). A good bet is to pick a time server from a university near you.

Automatic and manual time synchronization service is functionality that 'nix has always provided and so should Windows. There should be no need for third party programs.

Grogan

Attachment #1, (txt file)

Oh, and by the way, another example of the short sighted user
interface. The interval is 1 week. Changing that is a bit
trickier (but not much), it's a dword value.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

There's a dword value, SpecialPollInterval and its value is in
hexadecimal. It is in seconds. You can right click on that
value and choose modify, then for the base, choose decimal
instead of hex and enter the value in seconds. For example, 24
hours is 86400 seconds (0x00015180 in hexadecimal)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient]
"SpecialPollInterval"=dword:00015180

.txt file attached, that can be renamed to reg to change the
interval to 24 hours.

Note that the start of the interval goes by the last update
time. So if you click the Update Now button, that changes the
interval start time.

Personally I think 1 week is good enough for most systems, and
I'm inclined to check it manually once in a while, but some
have problems keeping time (e.g. drivers that cause the system
clock to gain or lose time). Also, the hardware clock on some
PCs is about as accurate as a $4 wrist watch.

P.S. P.S. P.S. P.S! You have to restart the Windows Time
service in Administrative Tools/Services for this to take
effect. (or reboot the computer)

Grogan

Attachment #1, (txt file)

Thanks Darren & Grogan! That one less program I need.

marti

Well I'm glad to hear that as I didn't realize this!!! I've been using Atomic Clock and now I can get rid of it

Adirondack Girl

Which Atomic Clock program?

marti

Go here:
http://www.atomtime.com/
I keep a shortcut on the desktop to check AND MAKE SURE that I am online,if in doubt.

LilJoe

I used to like a program called Tardis. I would just start it manually whenever I wanted to set the time. Back when XP was young, I didn't realize there was the internet time sync, so I installed Tardis on my parents' computer. I noticed that every time I thought to run it, no time correction was necessary. "Man, this system clock sure keeps good time" thought I

When I realized what was happening, I just let XP do its thing from then on.

Grogan

http://www.worldtimeserver.com/atomic-clock/

Adirondack Girl

If the program is not in the add/remove program list, try start >> all programs >> highlight your software >> and look at the list after the arrow. Uninstall may be there.

marti

Not only is going directly to the NIST timeserver more accurate, the Windows time check is only once a day. ATS can be set to check at any interval in seconds (3600 seconds=one hour}.

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/ats.htm

Shelly

Worse than that Shelly, as I've said above, it's weekly (unless you change a dword value). I would think daily is enough for an automated check. Most of us don't need to neurotically connect to those servers 25 times a day to set our clock by -0.00001 s (such accuracy is not even real on our end)

Now, with regard to accuracy... if you're telling me that pico seconds matter to you, then you have too much time on your hands (sorry, yes that was a "stinker")

Any time server you use is likely to be within fractions of a second of any other and neither your hardware clock, nor the software clock is accurate to all that many significant digits. Don't confuse precision with accuracy. Just because a clock driver may maintain a dozen or so decimal places based on CPU ticks doesn't make it meaningful data. Garbage in, garbage out if you were to rely on it for some specialized purpose.

Then, when the software clock syncs with the hardware clock (e.g. shutdown/reboot time), it gets rounded to the nearest second. It's a much less precise than the clock driver in an OS.

My point is that atomic clock style precision is highly overrated, when applied to a PC

But yeah, if you want more control over it, the Windows Internet Time doohickey is more trouble than the program you like. (registry edits to use the desired server and interval)

Grogan

Grogan,

I don't care about perfect time, but my still running 6-1/2 year old machine didn't keep even close time. As I said above, my computer should have the correct time, or within seconds of the correct time.

marti

Yep, I was just off on a tangent with Shelly there.

Your 6 1/2 year old machine illustrates the point as well. Fat lot of good atomic precision does, when the time is inaccurate (for example) by a few seconds every hour. Any time server will do

Grogan

I'm admittedly a time freak. All of the clocks in my home are atomic except for my trusty digital Sony clock radio that has awakened me for nearly 50 years, and with which I could not bear to part, and some appliance clocks. My wrist watch is also atomic. All these are accurate to within a fraction of a second at any instant. I have one clock I built years ago that has a high specification state and when the high spec LED is lit it is certified to be accurate to .0001 second (yes that's 1/10,000th).

I am now seriously thinking about one of these:

NIST Demonstrates Miniature Atomic Clock

NIST researchers have demonstrated a minuscule atomic clock with inner workings about the size of a grain of rice and potential applications in atomically precise timekeeping in portable, battery-powered devices for secure wireless communications, more precise navigation, and other applications. The "physics package" of the clock, believed to be the smallest in the world, is about 1.5 millimeters on a side and about 4 millimeters tall, consumes less than 75 thousandths of a watt, and has a stability of about one part in 10 billion, equivalent to a clock that would neither gain nor lose more than a second in 300 years.

NIST researchers are also demonstrating the potential to fabricate and assemble the physics package using the low-cost, mass-production techniques used to make semiconductor devices, which should eventually lead to a complete atomic clock about 1 cubic centimeter in size (about the size of a pencil eraser) powered by a battery. Such miniature atomic clocks are not intended to compete for accuracy and stability with the world’s most accurate atomic clocks such as the NIST-F1 cesium fountain atomic clock, but could make dramatic improvements in the many consumer and military electronic devices that rely on stable and accurate timing for wireless communications, navigation, and other applications.

The NIST chip-scale atomic clock program is supported by NIST and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

http://tf.nist.gov/ofm/smallclock/index.htm

Shelly

That's interesting and having such a chip in a computer or control device would be very advantageous to scientists.

So, with a Cesium 135 wrist watch, I guess you're never late for work

Pretty neat though.

Grogan

I'm almost always late for work, but rarely late for dinner.

Shelly

Shelly,

I am also a time freak, and need more clocks that I don't have to set. I hate daylight savings time, on/off, as there is no way I can set my clocks to the proper time.

Several years ago, Roy and I counted the clocks in the house, on the patio, in the garage, and on things like VCR's, TV's, the coffee pot, the car, and more. It was over 25 devices to set when we did the "spring forward fall back dance."

marti

Atomic Time Sync (AnalogX) works perfectly with XP, I have used it for years. The curent version is 1.03. NIST sometimes takes a time IP address off line for maintenence, and you may have to enter a different address. The link below is a list of all NIST time URL's.

http://tf.nist.gov/service/time-servers.html

Shelly

Shelly, It's possible I had an older version. Will have to look into that.

marti

I was running the current version. I installed it again and rebooted. It still doesn't know that it's supposed to run at startup. How do I change that?

marti

Control Panel-Taskbar and Start Menu-Start Menu-Customize.

LilJoe

>Control Panel-Taskbar and Start Menu-Start Menu-Customize.

Not start menu -- RUN at startup

marti

There are probably a dozen ways to get a program to start at boot.

Here's how I get a program to run automatically when I start my computer.

I'll use AtomicTimeSync as an example.

First thing is to right click on the Start button in the Taskbar.

Next, click on Explore.

Explorer will then will open at the Start Menu.

Click the plus in the box to the left of Programs to expand the Program list.

Click the plus in the box to the left of AnalogX to expand the Analogx list.

Click on the AtomicTimeSync icon to expand its contents in the right pane of the Explorer window.

Now, right click the AtomicTimeSync shortcut and click Copy on the right click menu.

Then, just scroll down the Program list in the left pane of Explorer until you come to the Startup folder.

Right click the Startup folder and click Paste on the right-click menu.

If you have Startup Monitor, or Microsoft's AntiSpyware program installed, a window will likely pop up asking if you want AtomicTimeSync to run at boot. Give it permission.

That's it. Close everything out and go back to your regular computing.

If ATS is correctly installed there will be an icon in your task bar tray, If that icon is there4 it will run at startup without ab=ny intervention needed from you. Right click on that icon and select Config to set the NIST time IP address and the interval between updates checks.

Shelly

Shelly,

I must be missing something, as the program does not run at startup if I reboot. How do I "properly install it?"

marti

Its been a long time since I installed it, but I think it asks if you want it to run at startup. Do you hav ea tray icon for ATS? If you do, it's correctly installed, then you just have to configure it as I explained above.

Shelly

Here is their readme file.

THE HANDY DANDY ANALOGX ATOMIC TIMESYNC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever wanted all your machines on your local network set to the exact
same time? Or have you wanted to make sure that your computer's clock is as
accurate as possible? With a name like AnalogX Atomic TimeSync, you know it's
just gotta do something cool!

AnalogX Atomic TimeSync let's you synchronize your computers internal clock to
any other time server on the web, such as the one at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (http://www.nist.gov/)! This means you can set your
computer's time by the same atomic clocks that the military uses - how's that
for cool!

But ATS doesn't just stop there, it can also be configured to automatically
set your computers time periodically, just to ensure you're right on time. Or
if you're like me, and like to have all your clocks 10 minutes fast, ATS can
accommodate you as well with a totally customizable shift in hours, minutes, and
even seconds that automatically get's applied to any time returned! How often
ATS updates your system time is also up to you; just set the interval (in secs),
and let ATS take care of the rest.

Still not enough for you? The how about a built in time server, so that once
you've synchronized one machine on your local network, you can automatically
sync all of the other machines to it! The master time server is also totally
customizable, so you can change it from the default 'time-nw.nist.gov' to any other
NTP time server out there. For the most complete listing of servers, check out
this website:

http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/servers.htm

It's also helpful to pick the closest server to your location, since this will
help to eliminate any variance introduced by connection latency.

If you want to use it to synchronize your whole network, here's how to do it;
install a copy of ATS on your server machine (we'll use 10.0.0.1 as it's IP for
this example) - this will become the time server for your entire network. Now,
install a copy of ATS on all the client machines, and change the time server in
the config from 'time.nist.gov' to '10.0.0.1'; now they will get their time
from your internal network server. Finally, on each client machine, make sure
to set some update interval in the config, such as 12 hours or something
similar, and enable the 'Set time on update' option so that it adjusts the time
automatically.

Please note that ATS will not work through a proxy, so if you wish to sync the
other machines on your local network, then you'll want to use the same method
detailed above.

Shelly

It never asks to run at startup, that's my problem. I have installed/uninstalled/installed three or four times now. If I reboot, (which is happening a lot, as some programs require a reboot after installation is completed) then ATS is not in the system tray.

marti

I downloaded and installed AtomicTimeSync today and it did not offer an option to run at boot during the install and I didn't see where it could be configured that way in the program itself or on the AtomicTimeSync website.

Of course, it's possible that I missed it somewhere.

>
>I downloaded and installed AtomicTimeSync today and it did
>not offer an option to run at boot during the install and I
>didn't see where it could be configured that way in the
>program itself or on the AtomicTimeSync website.
>
>Of course, it's possible that I missed it somewhere.

Dubber,

I forced it to run at startup, using a method similar to what you explained above. I created a shortcut to the program and then copied into startup. I had more than one item labelled "startup" so guessed at which one to use.

Thanks for all of the help, guys. I'm happy to have my little program back.

marti

That was the way I had you headed in reply # 17,I thought if I got you that far you would take over and finish. By Add-Browse and select the program and then tell it to put in Startup.

LilJoe

>That was the way I had you headed in reply # 17,I thought if
>I got you that far you would take over and finish. By
>Add-Browse and select the program and then tell it to put in
>Startup.

Lou,

I have not been getting much sleep lately, as I have been trying to get this new computer "kinda sorta" set up the way I want it. I still have a pile of programs to load, and many downloaded programs that I need to install.

I don't expect to learn a new OS in a few days, but what loads at startup that I don't want and things that should load at startup are high priority. I love my little Atomic Time Server, as that way I know the system time is always correct.

marti

With all due respect that's a pretty ordinary program. Only one server, and if it's down you have to change it manually.

I've used a little thing called About Time for years. Came with three default servers (NIST, US Naval Observatory and NASA), and polls through them if the first one's down. And you can add as many more as you like. I've just deleted NASA, which seems to be an old address, and added a couple of the NIST alternatives from Shelly's list.

Only problem is it doesn't seem to be available any more. But if anyone wants it, PM me your email address and I'll pass it on. No installation, just unzip to the folder of your choice.

Paul,

I have never had a problem with ATS. I have used the same server for years.

marti

Download AboutTime here.

How did you find that from the home page?

I didn't.

The download link on the AboutTime home page does not work.

Just search for AboutTime download in Google and you'll see several websites that have it available.

Edit:

It's not uncommon for certain websites to take pride in and brag about the fact that they have Freeware available that you can't find anywhere else.

One example, from Son of Spy Freeware:

+++++++++++++

Greetings!

I am Son Of Spy.

I protect great free applications that have been abandoned, made payware and/or been lost, keeping them available for the utility and enjoyment of new generations of surfers.

I promise you'll see things here that are linked to nowhere else.

So...if something's missing, please don't hesitate to write...

-Son Of Spy
Webmaster

++++++++++++

Paul: Is this the Time Sync Program you're talking about?

AboutTime

http://www.arachnoid.com/abouttime/

Edit: Sorry, there's Bugger-All on that Page. I just assumed there was.

Ken:

Yes, it is. You can get it from the link dubber posted above.