Date and Time

Date and Time is a simple applet you're sure to have used in the past to adjust the system date and time. That is, it adjusts the hardware clock in the computer, which is maintained by a battery on the motherboard. The system date and time are used for myriad purposes, including date- and time-stamping the files you create and modify, stamping email, controlling the scheduler program for automatic application running, and so on.

NOTE

The Date and Time applet doesn't change the format of the date and time, only the actual date and time stored on your computer's clock. To change formats, see the description of the Regional applet later in this chapter.

When you're a member of a Microsoft network domain, you should never need to set the clock. It is kept synchronized to the domain controller (a Windows 2000, Windows NT, or Windows Server 2003). Many network services, including authentication protocols and replication, require exact or close synchronization of all systems within the network.

If your system is part of a workgroup or just a standalone, you can sync your clocks with an Internet time server. The Date and Time applet includes a new third tab for doing just that. However, this capability is not available on domain clients. The ability to sync with an Internet time server through the Date and Time applet is reserved for workgroup members, standalone systems, and domain controllers.

The Date and Time applet can also be accessed by double-clicking on the clock on the taskbar or right-clicking over the clock and selecting Adjust Date/Time. To set the date and time, follow these steps:

1.	Run the Date/Time applet.
2.	Alter the time and date by typing in the corrections or by clicking the arrows. The trick is to click directly on the hours, minutes, seconds, or AM/PM area first, and then use the little arrows to the right of them to set the correct value. So, to adjust the a.m. or p.m., click AM or PM, and then click the little up or down arrow. After setting the month and year, you can click the day in the displayed calendar.
3.	Click the Time Zone tab to adjust the zone. Why? It's good practice to have your time zone set correctly for programs such as client managers, faxing programs, time synchronizing programs, or phone dialing programs. They may need to figure out where you are in relation to others and what the time differential is. Also, if you want your computer's clock to be adjusted automatically when daylight saving time changes, make sure the Automatically Adjust Clock for Daylight Saving Changes check box is selected.
4.	Click the Internet Time tab. On this tab you can enable clock synchronization with an Internet time server. Two known time servers are provided in the pull-down list, but you can type in others. If you want to force a sync, click the Update Now button.
5.	Click OK to save changes and close the applet.

When Internet synchronization is enabled, your clock is reset to match the time servers once each week. Internet synchronization should only be configured on systems with an active Internet connection. Clock synchronization will not initiate a dial-up connection. Plus, if there is a firewall or proxy server between your client and the Internet, the clock synchronization packets may be blocked.

TIP

You can also adjust the time and date using the TIME and DATE commands from a DOS command prompt. For example, open a DOS box (click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt), type time, and press Enter. This command displays the current time and a prompt to enter the new time, as shown here:

 The current time is: 21:39:31.78 Enter the new time: 

Enter the new time or press Enter to leave the time as it is. The same process applies to the date. Type date and press Enter. The current date is displayed with a prompt to enter the new date, as shown here:

 The current date is: Thu 11/04/2001 Enter the new date: (mm-dd-yy)