How to Show Seconds in Windows Taskbar Clock

This article provides the exact Windows Registry entry required to enable or disable the display of seconds on the Windows taskbar clock. By following the step-by-step instructions below, you can modify the Windows Registry to show seconds alongside hours and minutes in your system tray clock.

The Registry Entry

The display of the seconds counter on the Windows taskbar clock is controlled by the ShowSecondsInSystemClock registry value.

• Registry Path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
• Value Name: ShowSecondsInSystemClock
• Value Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD 32-bit Value)
• Value Data:
  • 1 = Show seconds
  • 0 = Hide seconds (Default)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.

2. Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

3. In the Registry Editor address bar, navigate to the following path:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

4. Look for the ShowSecondsInSystemClock value in the right-hand pane.

   • If it exists, double-click it and change its Value data to 1.
   • If it does not exist, right-click on an empty area in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it ShowSecondsInSystemClock, then double-click it and set its Value data to 1.

5. Click OK to save the changes.

6. To apply the change immediately, restart the Windows Explorer process via Task Manager, or log out and log back in to your Windows account.