The steps are the same to configure a Windows client or server as an NTP server. These steps will work on current and previous versions of windows.
First make sure the NTP service is set to Automatic. If it is disabled or set to manual, change it to automatic and start the service.
Check the registry and verify the server is enabled.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer: Enabled should be set to 1
Now that you’ve updated the registry, you need windows to read your update. You can do that any one of the following 3 ways:
- Restart the time service
- Reboot your machine
- Open an administrator command prompt and run this command to have it reread the windows time portion of the registry:
w32tm /config /update
You should see “The command completed successfully”
You can run this command at an administrator command prompt to verify your NTP server is running: w32tm /query /configuration. You should see 3rd line from the last line Enabled: 1 (Local). This is under NtpServer in the [TimeProviders] section of the results.
If you get the error “The service has not been started” go back and verify you set the Windows Time service to automatic.
