[Fix] ‘Computer did not resync because no time data was available’

This error appears when users try to sync the time on a Microsoft Windows Server computer with an external time source. Syncing the time includes running the ‘w32tm /resync’ command on either the domain or the client computer.

There have been many different ways to resolve this problem over the years. We have decided to gather the best methods and include them in this article for you to check out and, hopefully, resolve the problem.

What Causes the ‘The Computer did not Resync because no Time Data was Available’ Error on Windows?

Solution 1: Change Group Policies

This method is the primary one recommended by experts from Microsoft and it has actually helped plenty of people resolve their problem. The process will be different based on whether you are experiencing and troubleshooting the problem on a domain controller or on a local computer so make sure you follow the steps accordingly!

For a Domain Object:

1. Open the Run dialog box by using the Windows Key + R key combination on your keyboard (press these keys at the same time). Type “dsa.msc” in the newly opened box without the quotation marks and click OK in order to open the Active Directory Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console.

2. Inside, right-click the container which contains the Group Policy object you want to modify and choose Properties from the context menu.
3. In the new “Container Name” Properties window which will open, navigate to the Group Policy Click the object you want to modify and choose Edit.

For a local computer:

• Open the Run dialog box by using the Windows Key + R key combination on your keyboard (press these keys at the same time. Type “gpedit.msc” in the newly opened box without the quotation marks and click OK in order to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

The following steps will be the same regardless of what kind of computer you are performing the steps on:

1. On the left navigation pane of Local Group Policy Editor, under Computer Configuration, double click on Administrative Templates, and navigate to System > Windows Time Service.
2. Select the Windows Time Service folder by left-clicking on it and check out its right side section.
3. Double click the “Global Configuration Settings” policy and check the radio button next to the “Not Configured” option.

4. Next, expand the Windows Time Service folder and click the Time Providers key. Inside, you will find three keys: Configure Windows NTP Client, Enable Windows NTP Client, and Enable Windows NTP Server.
5. Double-click each entry and change the radio button at the top to Not Configured.

6. Apply the changes you have made before exiting. The changes won’t be applied until you restart.
7. Finally, reboot the computer to save the changes and check to see if you are still being faced with the error.

Solution 2: Tweaking Registry Keys

Editing some specific keys in the registry should enable you to connect to the time server properly. This set of steps should be performed on the host computer of the workgroup, homegroup, or any other network with a centralized host computer. Make sure you are careful when handling the registry keys.

1. Since you are going to delete a registry key, we recommend you check out this article we have published for you to safely backup your registry to prevent other problems. Still, nothing wrong will occur if you follow the steps carefully and correctly.
2. Open the Registry Editor window by typing “regedit” in the search bar, the Start menu, or the Run dialog box which can be accessed with the Windows Key + R key combination. Navigate to the following key in your registry by navigating at the left pane:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters

3. Click on this key and try to locate an entry named Type. If it’s not there, create a new String Value entry called Type by right-clicking at the right side of the window and choosing New > String Value. Right-click on it, and choose the Modify option from the context menu.

4. In the Edit window, under the Value data section change the value to NT5DS and apply the changes you have made. Confirm any security dialogs which may appear during this process.
5. You can now manually restart your computer by clicking Start menu > Power button > Restart and check to see if the problem is gone. This will probably resolve the problem immediately.

Solution 3: Running Windows Time Service Command

There is a certain command which has helped several users resolve the problem with time sync. It’s a more sophisticated ‘w32tm’ command which will perform some extra actions in order to connect to the ‘time.windows.com’ server properly. Check it out below!

1. Search for “Command Prompt” either right in the Start menu or by tapping the search button right next to it. Right-click the first result which appears at the top and select the “Run as administrator” option.

2. Users who are using an older version of Windows can use the Windows Logo Key + R key combination in order to bring up the Run dialog box. Type in “cmd” in the box and use the Ctrl + Shift + Enter key combination in order to run Command Prompt as an administrator.
3. Copy and paste the command shown below and make sure you click the Enter key on your keyboard.

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:time.windows.com,0x1 /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update

4. Check to see if the “The computer did not resync because no time data was available” problem still appears when running the ‘w32tm /resync’ command!

Solution 4: Restart the Windows Time Service

Restarting the service will restart the whole process as well but it should resolve the problem, especially if a bug was causing it to misbehave. Check it out below.

1. Open the Run utility by using the Windows Key + R key combination on your keyboard (press these keys at the same time. Type “services.msc” in the newly opened box without the quotation marks and click OK in order to open the Services tool.

   

2. Locate Windows Time Service on the list, right-click on it and select Properties from the context menu which appears.
3. If the service is started (you can check that just next to the Service status message), you should stop it by clicking the Stop button in the middle of the window. Anyway, run it again by clicking the Start
   

   

4. Make sure that the option under the Startup type menu in the service’s properties window is set to Automatic before you proceed with other steps. Confirm any dialogue boxes which may appear when changing the startup type.

You may receive the following error message when you click on Start:

 “Windows could not start the service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process.”

If this happens, follow the instructions below to fix it.

1. Follow the steps 1-3 from the instructions above in order to open the service’s properties window. Navigate to the Log On tab and click on the Browse… button.

2. Under the “Enter the object name to select” entry box, type in your account’s name, click on Check Names and wait for the name to become available.
3. Click OK when you are finished and type in the password in the Password box when you are prompted with it if you have set up a password. It should now start without issues!