Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot

When booting Windows and Linux, you may notice that it is not possible to synchronize the system clock between these two operating systems. Although you have changed the clock on an operating system, it still does not fix the problem on the other operating system. This is because these two operating systems use different timing methods. This article will show you how to fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot.

Why do the two operating systems show different time?

The computer stores the current time on the clock in the motherboard. This allows the computer to keep track of time even when it is turned off. To calculate time zones, different operating systems use different methods. Windows assumes the time the computer is stored in the motherboard, so it does not apply any time zones. On the other hand, Linux will interpret the time on the motherboard as UTC (also known as Greenwich Mean Time) and apply a time zone to display the time on the computer.

Both operating systems are fully independent. The problem occurs when users dual-boot the system, running Windows and Linux on the same motherboard. When operating systems are forced to share a timeline, the clocks will not synchronize.

How to fix Windows and Linux errors displays different times when dual booting

Method 1: Adjust to Linux using time on the computer

The safest method for Linux and Windows to display at the same time is to change the Linux timing method. It works on all distributions of Linux using systemd, including Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, Debian and Mint. Windows time changes often work well, but sometimes it can lead to instability in third-party software.

Open the Terminal window and run the following command:

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 1

This command will tell the system to use the motherboard storage time as the computer time. Linux will no longer apply time zone adjustments to the storage time on the motherboard. As a result, the clock will be synchronized. If you want to reverse the command, just change 1 to 0:

Method 2: Adjust Windows to use UTC

You can also change the way Windows views the time system. This adjustment will cause Windows to use the time stored on the motherboard as UTC. Although this method generally works well, some of the time-based applications of the motherboard may be affected, so it is sometimes difficult to track errors.

Step 1. Disable " Set time automatically " in " Time & Language " in the Settings application. This will prevent Windows from deleting the changes we are about to make.

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 2

Step 2. Open Registry Editor by typing regedit into the Start menu.

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 3

Step 3. Find the following registry key in the left pane of Registry Editor by pasting the following line into the address bar of the registry editor:

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 4

Step 4. Right-click the " TimeZoneInformation " key in the left pane and select " New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value " from the context menu.

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 5

Step 5 . Name the new value "RealTimeIsUniversal".

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 6

Step 6. Double click on the value just created, set the value to "1" and click " OK ".

Fix Windows and Linux errors showing different time at dual boot Picture 7

The safest way to synchronize the system clock in a dual-boot system is to adjust the way Linux uses time. If this doesn't work (or if you're using macOS instead of Linux), you can also edit the Windows registry to change the way Windows uses the time of the motherboard.

I wish you all success!

See more:

1. Use parallel Windows 7 and Windows 8 on PC
2. Install and start Windows XP and Vista on one computer
3. Windows 8 security feature prevents dual booting with Linux