Cannot Synchronize Time on a Cluster

ID: Q245067

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Microsoft Cluster Server

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

You may be unable to synchronize the time against a time source on your cluster. You cannot use the Timeserv utility from the Resource Kit because its name is already being used by the cluster Timeserv service.

CAUSE

The Timeserv service used in clustering is designed only to provide a consistent cluster-wide time, but does not allow real-time synchronization. Note that this service is not mandatory for cluster reliability purposes and can be deleted to use Resource Kit utilities such as Timeserv or W32Time instead.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To use a Resource Kit utility instead, remove the Timeserv cluster resource:

In the Cluster Administration tool, set the Time Service resource to offline.

Delete the Time Service resource.

Move the cluster group on the other node.

Delete the Timeserv key in the following registry key on both nodes:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services

Install the Time Service or W32Time Resource Kit utility from the following Microsoft FTP site:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/reskit/y2kfix/

Note that removing the Timeserv cluster resource does not affect the reliability of the cluster.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0, Enterprise Edition.

MORE INFORMATION

The Timeserv and W32Time Resource Kit utilities use .ini files to configure their role and primary time source, and run as services.

For information about their installation and use, including year 2000 (Y2K) information, see the following Microsoft FTP site:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/reskit/y2kfix/

For more information about how Microsoft products are affected by year 2000 (Y2K) issues, please see the following Microsoft World Wide Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbtool
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb