You cannot set the date, time, or time zone on your computer (300022)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
This article was previously published under Q300022
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

You experience either of the following symptoms:
  • In Control Panel, when you click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options, and then click Date and Time, you receive the following error message:
    You do not have the proper privilege level to change the system time.
  • Changes that you make to the time zone on the Time Zone tab do not take effect.
As a result, you cannot set the date, time, or time zone on your computer.

CAUSE

By default, only administrators and power users can change the date, time, or time zone.

RESOLUTION

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
To resolve this issue, ask a member of the Power Users or Administrators administrative group for the local computer to assign you the necessary user right to change the time or date and to set the time zone. To do this, administrators must grant the Change system time user right, and then add the following permissions on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation registry key:
  • Query Value
  • Set Value
  • Create Subkey
  • Enumerate Subkey
  • Notify
  • Read Control

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

The default policy assigns SeSystemtimePrivilege to the Administrators and Power Users groups. Time zone information is not security-sensitive, but it is a system-wide setting. By default, only members of the Administrators group and of the Power Users group can make changes to time zone information.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:4/14/2006
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB300022
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