Windows Time sync frequency

chief120

I've been reading about Windows Time in preparation for my 70-640 exam. In various Technet articles it states that if you have client computers configured in the Windows Registry to check for time via the domain hierarchy (NT5DS) they will check on a "regular basis." However, I can't seem to find an article that states how often a "regular basis" is. Is that once a week? Once a day? Twice a day? I see time service entries in the Windows log upon OS boot but rarely after that.

netBooger

I believe that the client polls the time source every 45 minutes by default until three consecutive polls determine that the time is synchronized and then it changes the pull to every 8 hours.

Here is an article that explains it all in depth, and even though it is for Windows 2003 I don't believe that it has changed.

Configuring the Windows Time Service :: Windows 2003 :: Articles & Tutorials :: WindowsNetworking.com