Microsoft Daylight Saving Time & Time Zone Blog

HOTFIX: Paraguay Shortens 2012-13 DST

Win DST — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:54:00 GMT

The government of Paraguay has Shortened Daylight Saving Time for 2012-13 [Official Decree]. DST for Paraguay now ends on March 23, 2013.

A hotfix for Windows has been released to address this change. You can find details of the hotfix and download it here [KB2829069].
Hotfixes are available for support versions of Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 platforms.

For more information on the impact of the change (including details on configuring Outlook), see the Microsoft CTS LatAm team's blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/latam/archive/2013/03/13/paraguay-dst-2013-fallback.aspx

HOTFIX: Chile Extends 2013 DST

Win DST — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 23:46:00 GMT

The government of Chile has extended Daylight Saving Time for 2013 [Official Decree]. DST for mainland Chile now ends on April 27, 2013 and starts on September 7, 2013.

A hotfix for Windows has been released to address this change. You can find details of the hotfix and download it here [KB2821346].
Hotfixes are available for support versions of Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 platforms.

NOTICE: Hotfix available for Israel and Libya time zone

Win DST — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:37:00 GMT

This hotfix contains three new changes in Windows Daylight Saving Time support:

The government of Israel extended Daylight Saving Time to a period of 193 days.

Starting 2013, DST in Israel will now begin on the Friday before the last Sunday in March, and it will end on the first Sunday after October 1. If the end of DST falls on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, DST will end on the first Monday after October 1

The government of Libya decided to start observing Daylight Saving Time.

In 2013, DST will start on the last Friday of March and end on Last Friday of October. On November 10, 2012, clocks were turned back by 1 hour to UTC+1.
A new dedicated time zone has been added for Libya in this update, which is (UTC+1:00 Tripoli).

For more information, or to download this hotfix, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2794119

December 2012 DST Cumulative Update for Windows operating systems

Win DST — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:18:00 GMT

The December
2012 DST Cumulative update for Windows operating systems has been published on Microsoft Download Center. It contains the following changes:

Bahia Standard Time:
Starting in 2012, Bahia Standard Time will no longer have DST.

Azores Standard Time:
Changes reflect the end of DST on October 28, 2012 for Azores Standard Time. These changes were released as KB2769756. This update includes the changes for DST for Azores Standard Time in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Additionally, this update includes the changes found in KB2769756. The new rules for DST for 2013 and onwards were released as part the October 2012 cumulative time zone update in KB2756822.

Fiji Standard Time:
The government of Fiji has announced new DST rules for 2012 through 2013. DST starts at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday October 21, 2012 and ends at 3:00 A.M. on Sunday January 20, 2013. This update applies to Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and down. Additionally, the changes that are included in the October 2012 cumulative time zone update that is described in KB2756822 are found in this update.

Jordan Standard Time:
Changes the UTC offset for Jordan Standard Time from (UTC+2) to (UTC+3). Therefore, the display name of the time zone is changed to (UTC+03:00) Amman. From 2013 onwards, Jordan Standard Time will no longer have DST.

For more information on these adjustments, refer to this Microsoft KnowledgeBase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2779562

October 2012 DST Cumulative Update for Windows operating systems

Win DST — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:03:00 GMT

The October 2012 DST Cumulative update for Windows operating systems has been published on Microsoft Download Center. This year’s October Update replaces the normal August Cumulative Update. It contains the following changes:

E. Europe Standard Time:

The display name for this time zone has been updated to "(UTC+2:00) E. Europe." from "(UTC+2:00) Nicosia."

Azores Standard Time:

Changes the 2013 DST start time to occur at 12:00:00 AM on the last Sunday of March and end time to occur at 01:00:00 AM on the last Sunday of October.

Caucasus/ Armenian Standard Time:

As previously described in the following blog (http://blogs.technet.com/b/dst2007/archive/2012/03/22/armenia-cancels-dst.aspx) the government of Armenia has cancelled Daylight Saving Time and will stay on permanent “winter time”. That article suggested that users move to a "workaround time" of Russian Standard Time. This Windows update makes the move permanent by removing the DST rule for the time zone “(UTC+4:00) Yerevan”

Pacific SA Standard Time:

As previously announced in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2681116, Chile has extended the 2012 Daylight Saving Time. The Chilean government has changed the 2012 DST start date to occur on the first Saturday of September 23:59:59.999 and end date to occur on the last Saturday of April at 23:59:59.999.

Morocco Standard Time:

As previously announced in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2698707, Morocco will switch to daylight saving time from 2012 onwards. The Moroccan government has changed the 2012 DST start date to occur on the last Sunday of April and end date to occur on the last Sunday of September. During the time of Ramadan, DST will be interrupted and from July 20 to August 19, 2012, time will be turned back to standard time. The transitions reflecting the start and end of Ramadan are not included in this Knowledge Base article, and can be installed by using the Fix it solutions provided in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2698707.

Russian History Correction:

Russian Time zone changes were included in Knowledge Base article 2570791 (August 2011 Cumulative time zone update). As a result of Russia canceling DST and staying on permanent "summer time," the entire 2011 calendar was updated to summer time. This update changes the 2011 calendar to show winter time before March 27, 2011 while DST was still in effect. The history correction has also been contained in Knowledge Base article 2657025.

Samoa History Correction:

Samoa Time zone changes were included in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2633952 (December 2011 Cumulative time zone update). As a result of this update, the entire 2011 calendar was updated to (UTC+13). This update reverts the 2011 calendar to (UTC-11) while the 2012 and future calendars will continue to be (UTC+13). The history correction has also been contained in Knowledge Base article 2657025.

Fiji Time:

The government of Fiji has announced new DST rules for 2012 through 2013. DST will start at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday October 21, 2012 and end at 3:00 A.M. on Sunday January 20, 2013.

For more information on these adjustments, refer to this Microsoft Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2756822

Notice: Ramadan Exception for Morocco DST

Win DST — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 06:57:00 GMT

As stated in the previous blog post, Microsoft has issued updates for Morocco introducing Daylight Saving Time in 2012 [KB2698707].

Daylight time will be paused during the holy month of Ramadan. Due to the yearly fluctuation of the start and end dates of Ramadan during this time of year, it is difficult to engineer updates for Windows in advance. For the sake of consistency and predictability, Windows will use July 20^th 2012 and August 19^th 2012 as the start and end dates for Ramadan respectively.

These are the same dates that have been published in the original KB article [KB2698707]. Note that this blog post does not mean that the dates have changed since the original plan – this is purely for awareness and notification of the dates that Windows will use as the Ramadan period in 2012.

Update	Installation Instructions	Intended Effect
Microsoft Fix It 50861	Install before April 29^th, 2012	Transition to Daylight time on April 29^th, 2012. Daylight time turned off on July 20^th 2012.
Microsoft Fix It 50870	Install after 3AM on July 20^th 2012	Daylight time resumes on August 19^th 2012. Daylight time to end on September 20^th 2012.
Windows Patch for KB 2698707	Install after August 20^th 2012	Correct history for 2012. (No Ramadan in history)

Setting these hard dates allows for the DST interruption to occur during the time of Ramadan in Morocco in a reliable manner. With the time transitions being automatic, customers will be able to rely on their Windows computers turning DST off for Ramadan on July 20^th and adjusting back to DST time on August 19^th creating a very consistent and predictable experience.

2012 DST changes for Morocco

Win DST — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:16:23 GMT

According to a recent law [link] passed by the government of Morocco, Morocco will follow DST each year from 2012.

Microsoft is releasing a series of updates for Windows to address this change. You can find details of the updates, including order of installation here: [KB2698707]

Note: All systems will need to have the latest cumulative timezone update installed before these updates can be applied. You can find the latest cumulative timezone update for Windows here [KB2633952: December 2011 Update].

Armenia cancels DST

Win DST — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:39:00 GMT

Disclaimer: The information in this document is written in response to an announcement by the government of Armenia about changes in the daylight saving time in Armenia for the year of 2012.

The steps provided in this bulletin were created to mitigate the impacts that the daylight saving time changes will cause for customers in Armenia. These are the impacts primarily anticipated at the time this document was written, and the effects that customers may face are not restricted to them.

Suggested actions on this document might receive additional testing and information described in this document may change without notice.

In addition, customers should be aware that further guidance may be provided at any time by Microsoft.

Special notes: The official decree cancelling DST in Armenia is published by the government on this page: http://parliament.am/legislation.php?sel=show&ID=4436

In an attempt to improve the country’s economy, the government of Armenia has cancelled Daylight Saving Time. This will result in the country staying on permanent ‘winter time’ and not moving an hour ahead on Sunday, March 25^th 2012.

Since the new date published by the government is different from what was defined in the previous years, Windows-based computers will not correctly interpret the time after March 25^th 2012.

Microsoft is not issuing an update for Windows at this time to address this change.
The recommendation is to move to an alternate time zone: 'Russian Standard Time' [DisplayName: “(UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd”]
The native timezone for Armenia: 'Caucasus Standard Time' [DisplayName: “(UTC+04:00) Yerevan”] will be updated in the next cycle of cumulative timezone update for Windows (planned for August 2012).

Updating Windows and correcting Outlook calendars

General recommendations:

Ensure the latest cumulative update to daylight-saving-time (DST) and world timezones (TZ) for Windows is installed [Dec 2011 Update]. For more information about this cumulative DST and TZ update, visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2633952
Note that adjusting the computer’s clock manually may have adverse effects. This procedure is not supported by Microsoft.
Contact Microsoft Support prior to any modification if you are unsure about the steps to follow in order to be prepared for the Daylight Saving Time change in Armenia.

Changing Windows OS time zone to (UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd

For Win7/WS08 R2, Vista/WS08 machines:

Click the start menu, select ‘Run’ and type

control timedate.cpl
Click ‘Change time zone…’ button
Select “(UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd” and click OK.

For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 machines:

Click the start button, select ‘Run’ and type

control timedate.cpl
Click ‘Time Zone’ tab and select “(UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd”

Automatically changing machine time zone to ‘(UTC +4:00) Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd)’ on Active Directory environments

Warning: If your domain has multiples site in different countries, make sure this solution is only deployed to machines located in Armenia. We recommend customers evaluate the alternatives and test before applying on production environments.

Note: Users running Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will have to first install KB2556308 in order to to use the TZUtil.exe utility.

On Active Directory environments, administrators may want to automate the change of time zones to “(UTC +4:00) Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd)”. This section explains how to deploy this time zone change via startup script. These procedures need to be executed in a Domain Controller or another machine with Admin Tools installed.

After performing all the steps below, all machines need to be restarted to automatically change the computer time zone. To avoid restarting a specific machine, please execute the procedures ‘Changing Windows OS time zone’ above to move this machine to ‘(UTC +4:00) Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd)’ time zone.

Use a script to change the machine time zone to (UTC +4:00) Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd)

The script shown below can be used to change the current time zone to “(UTC +4:00) Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd)” on the client computer. The script also writes an event to the Application log of the client computer where the script was run.

Copy/Paste the following code into a Notepad document. This VBS sample is only supported in Windows XP and Windows 2003.

On Error Resume Next
strNewTimeZone = "Russian Standard Time"
Set objSh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

'Get the StandardName key of the current time zone
szStandardName = objSh.RegRead("HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation\StandardName")

'Enumerate the subkeys in the time zone database
Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
Set objReg = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\default:StdRegProv")
szTzsKeyPath = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time Zones"
objReg.EnumKey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, szTzsKeyPath, arrTzSubKeys

'Step through the time zones to find the matching Standard Name
szCurrentTzKey = "<Unknown>"
For Each subkey In arrTzSubKeys
      strTimeZoneStandarName = ""
      strTimeZoneStandarName = objSh.RegRead("HKLM\" & szTzsKeyPath & "\" & subkey & "\Std")
    If (strTimeZoneStandarName = szStandardName) Then
        'Found matching StandardName, now store this time zone key name
        szCurrentTzKey = subkey
    End If
Next

Dim process, processid, result, strUpdateCommand
Set process = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\cimv2:Win32_process")

'Add time change privilege to the process object
process.Security_.Privileges.AddAsString "SeSystemTimePrivilege", True
strUpdateCommand = "control.exe timedate.cpl,,/Z" & strNewTimeZone

'Launch control.exe to change time zone using the TZ key name stored in strNewTimeZone
result = process.Create(strUpdateCommand, Null, Null, processid)
If result <> 0 Then
    objSh.LogEvent 1, "Process to change machine time zone failed to execute on this computer. Unable to change machine time zone."
    wScript.Quit 0
End If

'Get the display name from previous time zone and compare with the new time zone
szPrevDispName = objSh.RegRead("HKLM\" & szTzsKeyPath & "\" & szCurrentTzKey & "\Display")
szNewDispName = objSh.RegRead("HKLM\" & szTzsKeyPath & "\" & strNewTimeZone & "\Display")

'Write entry to the Application event log stating that the update has executed
If szPrevDispName = szNewDispName Then
    objSh.LogEvent 4, "Machine time zone was refreshed. The current time zone is: " & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & szNewDispName & "."
Else
    objSh.LogEvent 4, "Machine time zone was changed from: " & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & szPrevDispName & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "To: " & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & szNewDispName & "."
End If

Save the file as “ChangeTZ2012.vbs”.
Double click the ChangeTZ2012.vbs to refresh time zone information.

Note: Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure. However, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements.

Deploying time zone changes using Group Policy

The script will test the Operating System version and apply the VBS described above on Windows XP and Windows 2003. For Windows 7/Server2008 R2 and Vista/Server2008, the script uses the TZUTIL.exe tool to change the time zone

Copy/Paste the following lines into a Notepad document.

@echo off
ver |find /i "6.">nul
IF %errorlevel% EQU 0 GOTO SIX
cscript \\contoso.com\NETLOGON\ChangeTZ2012.vbs
GOTO End
:SIX
ver |find /i "6.0">nul
IF %errorlevel% EQU 0 GOTO Win
ver |find /i "6.1">nul
IF %errorlevel% EQU 0 GOTO Win
GOTO End
:Win
TZUTIL /G |Find /i "Caucasus Standard Time" >nul
IF %errorlevel% EQU 0 GOTO Armenia
GOTO End
:Armenia
TZUTIL /s "Russian Standard Time"
:End

Note: You must replace the \\contoso.com notation above with the actual DNS domain name for your Active Directory domain.

Save the file as "ChangeTZ2012.cmd".
Copy the following files to the Netlogon share folder of the domain controller that holds the PDC emulator role in the domain:
ChangeTZ2012.cmd
ChangeTZ2012.vbs
Wait until Active Directory replication occurs. Also, wait until the files and folders in the system volume (SYSVOL) shared folder replicate to domain controllers in the domain.
Click Start, click Run, type control admintools, and then click OK.
Double-click Active Directory Sites and Services.
Select a site where the computers in Armenia are located. (Small environments may have only a site named ‘Default-First-Site-Name’).
Right-click this site, and then click ‘Properties’.
Click the Group Policy tab, click New, type DST Time Zone Change, and then press ENTER.
Click Edit. The Group Policy Object Editor tool starts.
Expand Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, and then click Scripts (Startup/Shutdown).
Double-click Startup, and then click Add.
In the Script Name box, type the universal naming convention (UNC) path of the ChangeTZ2012.cmd file that is located in the Netlogon share. For example, type:
\\contoso.com\NETLOGON\ChangeTZ2012.cmd
Click OK two times.

Adjusting Outlook Calendars

When the time zone is moved to “(UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd", all Outlook calendar items from March 25^th 2012 to October 28^th 2012 will be displayed as occurring 1 hour earlier.

Options to correct your Outlook calendar in this scenario:

Manually modify each appointment on the affected period (March 25^th 2012 to October 28^th 2012) after the operating system time zone has been changed. See instructions in the section “How to manually modify Outlook Calendar items”

- or -

Customers may also opt to use the "Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool version 3.0" on the mode Permanent Time Zone Move to correct the Outlook calendar items. This procedure is explained below.

Special note: We recommend printing your calendar before any changes are made and review the calendar items to make sure these items appear at the correct times. You can use this printed copy of the calendar items to verify if Outlook has been updated successfully.

Using “Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool version 3.0” after a time zone move

The following describes the steps to be followed by users performing a time zone move:

Download and run the installation package from here [32 bit], [64 bit]
Go to Start, All Programs, Microsoft Office Outlook Tools, Time Zone Data Update Tool and Select "Permanent Time Zone Move Mode".
Select “(UTC+04:00) Yerevan” from the “Original Time Zone:” drop down, and (UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd” for the “New Time Zone:” drop down and click OK.

NOTE: As with standard time zone updates, the tool defaults to updating affected items on your Calendar and in your Reminders folder. If you would like to update additional items (e.g. items in additional Calendars or a PST), you can do so by clicking the ‘Custom…’ button and manually selecting the target folder.
The tool will inspect your mailbox and will report how many appointments will be moved. If you click “Details” the appointment list will appear and you will be able to select all (default) or some of the appointments. In a normal situation you will move all the appointments to the new time zone. Click “OK” in the following dialog to proceed moving the appointments. A log file “Outlook Time Zone Update .log” will be generated in the %temp% directory.
Click "OK" to correct the calendar items listed.
After moving Click “OK” again to close the tool.
Review your calendar items from March 25^th 2012 to October 28^th 2012 and verify they are correctly updated.

How to manually modify Outlook Calendar items:

After you move from the Yerevan time zone to “(UTC+04:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd", calendar items will be one hour off on the Delta Period, from March 25^th 2012 to October 28^th 2012.

A simpler alternative to correct the Outlook Calendar items is by adjusting the appointments manually. To do so:

Start Outlook, and then open the Outlook calendar.
Manually move each meeting that you organized so that they occur at the correct time.
Send an update for each meeting that you moved to the meeting attendees. This action causes the calendar for each attendee to display the correct time for the meeting.
Manually move each single-instance appointment.
Manually move all recurring appointments that occur in the extended DST period.

Recommendations to minimize the impacts on Outlook/Exchange:

Simulate the changes on a lab environment, so you know what to expect.
Work in conjunction with the operating system team to update the time zone as soon as possible to minimize the chance of users creating new appointments during the delta period before the operating system DST dates get updated.
Before doing any change on the DST information, request users to print their schedule so they have a reference to follow in order to manually update the appointments later if needed.
Take a full online backup of your Exchange Servers in case you decide to use the Exchange Calendar Update Tool.
For meetings with multiple attendees, the meeting requestor alone should update the time and send an update.
Include the time of the meeting in the e-mail request so invitees can double check the correct meeting time (such as, "Project brainstorming - 11:00 A.M. Yerevan Time").
When in doubt, verify the correct time with the organizer.

References

KB941018: How to address daylight saving time by using the Exchange Calendar Update Tool

KB934001: A troubleshooting guide to the Exchange Calendar Update Tool (Msextmz.exe)

KB931667: How to address time zone changes by using the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook

KB943390: Some Outlook calendar items are rebased incorrectly when you use the Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool to adjust for daylight saving time changes in certain time zones

Hotfix available for Chile DST change

Win DST — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:17:00 GMT

The government of Chile has extended Daylight Saving Time for 2012 [Official Decree]. DST for mainland Chile now ends on April 28, 2012 and starts on September 1, 2012.

A hotfix for Windows has been released to address this change. You can find details of the hotfix and download it here [KB2681116].
Hotfixes are available for support versions of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 platforms.

December 2011 DST Cumulative Update for Windows operating systems

Win DST — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:59:00 GMT

The December 2011 DST Cumulative update for Windows operating systems has been published on Microsoft Download Center. It contains the following changes:

Kaliningrad Standard Time:
As previously announced in KB2625508, Belarus has decided to discontinue daylight saving time from 2011 and stay on permanent ‘summer time’. KB2625508 suggested moving to a ‘workaround time’ of Kaliningrad standard time. This windows update makes the move permanent by including Minsk in the display name for Kaliningrad standard time. The new displayname for Kaliningrad Standard time is “(UTC+03:00) Kaliningrad, Minsk”.
E.Europe Standard Time :
The Displayname for this timezone has been updated to “(UTC+2:00) Nicosia”
Bahia Standard Time [Display Name "(UTC-3:00) Salvador"]:
A new windows timezone has been created for the Brazilian state of Bahia.
Fiji Standard Time [Display Name " (UTC+12:00) Fiji"]:
Sets the 2012 DST start date to occur on the fourth Sunday of January.
Samoa Standard Time:
Changes the UTC offset for Samoa Standard time from (UTC-11) to (UTC+13). This results in the timezone’s displayname changing to “(UTC+13:00) Samoa”.

For more information on these adjustments, refer to this Microsoft KnowledgeBase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2633952