Article ID: 832004 - Last Review: February 24, 2009 - Revision: 4.0

Cannot Change Time Zone on the Time & Date Tab

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Daylight saving time update

Important The update in this article is superseded by the cumulative update in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 955839. To obtain the most recent information about daylight saving time (DST), click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

955839 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955839/ ) December 2008 cumulative time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems

You do not have to remove any previously installed DST update to apply this cumulative update.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to change the time zone region on the Time Zone tab, the Current time zone label on the Date & Time tab does not change. The label text still shows the previous time zone that the computer was set to.

Additionally, when you use the GetTimeZoneInformation() function to retrieve the time zone that your computer is currently set to by using a custom program, the function may return an empty string for your current time zone.

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CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following registry subkey has a Dlt string value or a Std string value that is longer than 31 characters:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time Zones

When this problem occurs, Microsoft Windows 2000 returns a blank entry when the following registry subkey is accessed:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation

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RESOLUTION

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart Requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
--------------------------------------------------------------
24-Nov-2003  21:52  5.0.2195.6876      61,200  Timedate.cpl

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