Last Updated on July 12, 2026
If you are still running Windows 10 and have not made the switch or “upgrade” to Windows 11, then you might be missing out on some new Windows features. Then again Windows 11 took away some of the features we all loved from Windows 10! Microsoft constantly changes the user interface between operating system versions.
One feature that comes standard in Windows 11 is the ability to show seconds in the clock by the system tray. Unfortunately, this is not an option for Windows 10 but it’s still possible to do so. In this article, we will be showing you how to display seconds in the Windows 10 taskbar clock.
If you go to the Windows 10 settings, you can see that you can disable the clock from showing in the system tray completely. There are absolutely no graphical options to enable seconds for the clock. You are stuck with hours and minutes by default.
Even if you go to the Date & time settings, there is not much you can configure from here. You can change your time zone or sync your system clock with a time server. You will not find a toggle switch for seconds anywhere in this menu.
As you can see in the Windows 11 Time & language settings, there is an explicit option to show seconds in the system tray clock. Microsoft added this graphical toggle due to massive user demand. Windows 10 users have to rely on a backend registry tweak to achieve this exact same result.
Creating the Custom Batch Files
1. Download or Create the Scripts
In order to display seconds in the Windows 10 taskbar clock, we will be using a simple batch file that makes a basic registry change. We have a file to add the seconds to the taskbar clock and then another one to remove the option if you change your mind. You can download the batch files here. Once you download the batch files, simply unzip the file and you will have a file for each action.
2. Review the Enable Code
Here are the exact contents of the batch file that will show the seconds in the Windows 10 taskbar clock. You can open this file in Notepad to verify the code before running it. The script modifies the CurrentVersion Explorer Advanced registry key. It then forces the Windows Explorer process to restart so the changes take effect immediately.
@echo off
REG ADD “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced” /V ShowSecondsInSystemClock /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe
3. Review the Disable Code
Here are the contents of the batch file to hide the seconds in the taskbar clock. This script changes the registry DWORD value from a 1 back to a 0. This effectively turns the feature off completely on your machine.
@echo off
REG ADD “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced” /V ShowSecondsInSystemClock /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe
Executing the Taskbar Modification
1. Run the Enable Script
To make the change, simply double click the Show Seconds Taskbar Clock.bat file. Your screen will most likely flash suddenly. You will see your taskbar disappear and reappear since the process involves restarting Windows Explorer. This is normal system behavior.
2. Troubleshoot Missing Icons
If for some reason the clock is not showing in the taskbar after running the script, you can easily fix it. Simply go to the Turn system icons on or off setting in your control panel. Toggle the clock off and back on again to force the system tray to refresh.
3. Verify the Clock Output
As you can see in the image below, we can now see the seconds ticking away in the taskbar clock. This gives you precise timekeeping right on your desktop. You no longer have to open a browser to check the exact second.
4. Reverse the Process
If you want to reverse the process, simply double click the Hide Seconds Taskbar Clock.bat file and you will be back to not having seconds in the clock.
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