Configure NTP (Network Time Protocol) on Windows Server 2008

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) in Windows 2008 provides your server with the ability to control the system clocks on your Windows client machines. This keeps all machines on the network synchronized with the same system time. This is beneficial for Windows administrators who need to schedule time-sensitive services on the network. You set the Windows 2008 NTP service in the registry.

Step 1- Click the Windows 2008 “Start” button and enter “regedit” into the search box. Press Enter to open the Windows registry editor.

Step 2- Navigate to the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\W32Time\Config\“.
registry key

Step 3- Double click the key value labeled “AnnounceFlags” in the center detail pane.

Step 4- Enter “A” into the DWORD value text box. Click “OK” to save your settings. Close the Windows registry editor.

Step 5- Click the Windows “Start” button and enter “cmd” into the text box. Press Enter to open the command prompt. Enter the following into the command prompt and press Enter:

net stop w32time && net start w32time
This restarts the NTP system time settings and loads the new registry values for your Windows 2008 server.