Why is my NTP controlled computer clock two minutes ahead?
- by Martin Liversage
The clock in my computer is configured to be synchronized using NTP. To verify this I have tried two NTP clients using various NTP servers. My computer and the NTP clients are in complete agreement about the current time even across a wide range of NTP servers.
I also have a GPS and my national phone company provides an accurate clock available by calling a specific phone number. Both my GPS and the phone company agrees on the current time. However, my computer is almost precisely two minutes (or 1 minute and 59 seconds) ahead of what I believe to be the "real" current time where I live.
Why is my computer two minutes ahead? I realize that synchronizing clocks using the internet may not be entirely accurate as there is latency, but two minutes is a very long time on the internet. Is NTP really two minutes ahead? I'm running Windows 7 and live in the time zone UTC+1, but I don't think that is important in understanding my problem.