To start Windows Installer in Safe Mode:
1. Restart your computer and press F8 before the Boot Menu or splash screen.

2. Open a CMD.EXE window.

3. Type the following commands and press Enter:

REG ADD “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\MSIServer” /VE /T REG_SZ /F /D “Service”

net start msiserver

NOTE: You can use this technique to uninstall an application in Safe Mode.

You have to be very sure you followed the instructions for using an external time source correctly. I’ve used these instructions on many a 2K3 server without issue, so to recap:

1. Change Windows to use the NTP protocol for time synchronization:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters
Value: Type
Data: NTP

2. Configure the AnnounceFlags value:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config
Value: AnnounceFlags
Data: 5

3. Enable the NTP server value:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient
Value: Enabled
Data: 1

4. Specify the NTP server to use:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters
Value: NtpServer
Data: us.pool.ntp.org,0×1

5. Select the NTP polling interval:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient
Value: SpecialPollInterval
Data: 900

6. Configure the time correction settings:
Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config
Value: MaxPosPhaseCorrection
Radix: Decimal
Data: 3600

Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config
Value: MaxNegPhaseCorrection
Radix: Decimal
Data: 3600

After this, stopping and restarting the NTP service should get you working. If it does not, check the value configured in step 4