Windows Time Service Not Started (0x80070426)

by

This article explains how to fix a broken Windows Time (NTP) service on Windows Server or Workstation systems when synchronization fails or the service refuses to start.

A typical scenario:
User reports that system time is drifting, either behind or ahead. Kerberos starts failing. Domain authentication behaves inconsistently.

You check the status:

C:\> w32tm /query /status
The following error occurred: The service has not been started. (0x80070426)

This typically means the Windows Time service (w32time) is broken, not registered correctly, or stuck in an inconsistent state.

Clean Reset of Windows Time Service

In most real-world cases, the fastest resolution is a full service reset.

Unregister:

w32tm /unregister

Register again:

w32tm /register

Start the service:

net start w32time

Force sync:

w32tm /resync

Verify:

w32tm /query /status
Leap Indicator: 0(no warning)
Stratum: 3 (secondary reference - syncd by (S)NTP)
Precision: -23 (119.209ns per tick)
Root Delay: 0.0115991s
Root Dispersion: 0.3026845s
ReferenceId: 0x0A651198 (source IP:  10.122.199.199)
Last Successful Sync Time: 26.02.2026 6:45:32
Source: ntp.domain
Poll Interval: 14 (16384s)

If the service starts normally, synchronization resumes immediately.

If You Hit System Error 1290

Error 1290: The Time service start failed since one or more services in the same process have an incompatible service SID type setting.  A service with restricted service SID type can only coexist in the same process with other services with a restricted SID type. If the service SID type for this service was just configured, the hosting process must be restarted in order to start this service.

This usually means the service type configuration is broken.

Fix:

sc config w32time type= own

Then start the service again.

If You See 0x80070430 (Marked for Deletion)

The specified service has been marked for deletion. (0x80070430)

What actually helps:

  • Unregister again
  • Open services.msc
  • Stop Windows Time
  • Close Services console
  • Register again
  • Start the service

In stubborn cases, a reboot clears the deletion flag immediately.

Why This Happens in Real Environments

Most common causes I’ve seen:

  • VM templates with broken time configuration
  • Manual registry edits
  • Service dependency corruption
  • Aggressive hardening scripts
  • Partial domain controller demotion

Leave a Comment