This wikiHow teaches you how to change the time and date on a Windows computer using the Command Prompt program. If you do not have administrator access on the computer, you cannot change the time and date.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Disabling Automatic Time and Date Settings
Step 1. Understand why this step is needed
While you can change the time and date on your computer using the Command Prompt when automatic time and date settings are enabled, your computer will eventually reset the time and date to the current time and date.
Sometimes, the computer will reset the time and date as soon as the Command Prompt window is closed
Step 2. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Open the settings menu or “Settings”
Click the gear icon in the lower-left corner of the “Start” window. After that, the “Settings” window will be displayed.
Step 4. Click Time & Language
It's in the middle of the “Settings” window.
Step 5. Click Date & time
It's in the top-left corner of the window.
Step 6. Click the colored “Set time automatically” switch
The switch color will change to gray
. This change indicates that Windows will no longer attempt to automatically reset the time and date. At this stage, you can already change the time and date on your computer through the Command Prompt program.
Part 2 of 2: Changing the Time and Date
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen. The “Start” menu will appear after that.
Step 2. Locate the Command Prompt program
Type in command prompt, then wait for the “Command Prompt” option to appear at the top of the “Start” menu.
Step 3. Right click
"Command Prompt".
It's near the top of the "Start" menu. After that, a drop-down menu will be displayed.
- If the mouse doesn't have a right-click button, click the right side of the mouse or use two fingers to click the mouse button.
- If your computer uses a trackpad instead of a mouse, use two fingers to touch the trackpad or press its lower right side.
Step 4. Click Run as administrator
This option is in the drop-down menu.
You cannot change the computer time and date without administrator rights
Step 5. Click Yes when prompted
With this option, you confirm your choice to open the Command Prompt program. The Command Prompt window will be displayed at this stage.
Step 6. Change the time
The command to change the time on the computer via the Command Prompt is time HH:MM:SS AM/PM, where "HH:MM:SS" refers to the hours, minutes, and seconds. Meanwhile, "AM/PM" refers to the part of the day (morning/evening). To change the computer time, type this command with the time you want, then press Enter.
- For example, to change the computer time to 8.35 am, type in time 08:35:00 AM and press Enter.
- To change the computer time to 10:00 p.m., type the command time 10:00:00 PM and press Enter.
- If you are comfortable with the 24-hour time system, you can type in the time you want (eg 14:00:00 for 2pm) without including the "AM" or "PM" markers.
Step 7. Change the computer date
The date format used in the Command Prompt program will be adjusted to your country, but the Command Prompt will tell you the format to follow: type in date and press Enter, then type the desired date in the format specified by the Command Prompt (eg "month". -date-year" if you live in the United States) and press Enter.
- To change the computer date to September 25, 2018 (on a computer with United States territory), type date and press Enter, then type 09-25-2018 and press Enter. For Indonesia, type in date and press Enter, then type 25-09-2018 and press Enter.
- If you are using a computer with a European region and you want the date to be displayed in an appropriate format (eg 12 October 2018), type in date and press Enter, then enter the command 12-10-2018 or 2018-10-12, depending on your location.
Step 8. Review the computer time and date
In the lower right corner of the screen, you can see the updated time and date in the format of the region where you live.
