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How to Set a Time Zone for Image for DOS

This article will explain how to specify a particular time zone for use by Image for DOS.  Using the appropriate time zone in this manner ensures that the date/time stamps of the files created by Image for DOS will be correct when they are viewed within Windows.

Please note that establishing a time zone environment variable is only necessary and applicable when saving images to NTFS partitions or to CD/DVD discs.

The time zone can be specified by placing the TimeZone variable in the IFD.INI file, using the /tz command line option, or using the IFD environment variable. Examples of all three methods are shown below.

Using IFD.INI

The TimeZone variable is placed in the [Options] section of the INI file. For example, to specify Pacific Time:

[Options] TimeZone=PST8PDT

Note that you can easily add this option (as well as others) to the IFD.INI file when creating the Image for DOS boot media.

Using the /tz command line option

The /tz option is included on the command line when running Image for DOS. For example, to specify Pacific Time:

image /b /d:0@0x01 /f:1@0x01:\backups\xp /tz:PST8PDT

Using the IFD environment variable

The IFD environment variable can contain many options. In this example, it is being used solely to specify the Pacific Time time zone:

SET IFD=tz:PST8PDT

 

Option Format

The format of the time zone option is the same regardless of the method used:

TimeZone=AAA[+/-]HBBB
/tz:AAA[+/-]HBBB
SET IFD=tz:AAA[+/-]HBBB

Where:

  • AAA is required, and is a three-character placeholder string to represent your time zone identifier;

  • +H or -H is required, and represents a number opposite to your UTC offset (the + symbol is optional when the value is positive; the - symbol is required when the value is negative);

  • BBB is optional, and, if present, instructs Image for DOS to account for daylight savings time.

Examples

TimeZone=ABC-12
  • ABC is a placeholder only, having no direct effect on the time zone designation.
  • -12 designates the time zone as equivalent to UTC +12.
  • Since no string corresponding to BBB is present, daylight savings time compensation will not be performed.
/tz:EST+5EDT
  • EST is a placeholder only, having no direct effect on the time zone designation.
  • +5 designates the time zone as equivalent to UTC -5.  Using 5 (without the + symbol) would have been equivalent.
  • EDT specifies that daylight savings time compensation will be performed.
SET IFD=tz:+04+04
  • The first +04 is a placeholder only, having no direct effect on the time zone designation.
  • The second +04 designates the time zone as equivalent to UTC -4.  Using +4 (without the leading 0) would have been equivalent.
  • Since no string corresponding to BBB is present, daylight savings time compensation will not be performed.

 

Location and Environment Variable Command Examples

Note: In the chart below, only an example using the command line option is shown.

 
UTC/GMT Offset Location Examples Variable Command
GMT Greenwich Mean Time; London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Casablanca, Monrovia /tz:GMT000
-1:00 Azores, CapeVerde Islands /tz:+01+01
-2:00 Mid-Atlantic /tz:+02+02
-3:00 Buenos Aires, Rio de Janiero, E. South America /tz:+03+03
-3:30 Newfoundland /tz:NWF+03:30
-4:00 Atlantic Time (Canada) , Caracas, La Paz /tz:AST+04ADT
-5:00 Eastern Time (US & Canada), Bogota, Lima, Indiana (East) /tz:EST+05EDT
-6:00 Central Time (US & Canada), Mexico City, Tegucigalpa, Saskatchewan /tz:CST+06CDT
-7:00 Mountain Time (US & Canada), Arizona /tz:MST+07MDT
-8:00 Pacific Time (US & Canada), San Francisco, LA, Tijuana /tz:PST+08PDT
-9:00 Alaska /tz:+09+09
-10:00 Hawaii /tz:+10+10
-11:00 Midway Island, Samoa /tz:+11+11
-12:00 Enewetak, Kwajalein, Dateline /tz:+12+12
+1:00 Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Stockholm, Rome, W. Europe /tz:MEZ-01
+2:00 Athens, Helsinki, Istanbul, E. Europe, Harare, Pretoria, South Africa, Israel /tz:OEZ-02
+3:00 Baghdad, Kuwait, Nairobi, Riyadh, Saudi , Moscow, St. Petersburg /tz:-03-03
+4:00 Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Tbilisi, Kazan, Volgograd, Arabia /tz:-04-04
+5:00 Islamabad, Karachi, Sverdlovsk, Tashkent, West Asia /tz:-05-05
+6:00 Alma Ata, Dhaka, Central Asia /tz:-06-06
+7:00 Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi, Bangkok /tz:-07-07
+8:00 Beijing, Chongqing, Urumqi, Hong Kong, Perth, Singapore /tz:-08-08
+9:00 Tokyo, Osaka,Sapporo, Seoul, Yakutsk /tz:-09-09
+9:30 Adelaide, Central Australia, Darwin /tz:acd-09:30
+10:00 Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Guam, Port Moresby, Vladivostok, West Pacific, Hobart /tz:-10-10
+11:00 Magadan, SolomanIs., New Caledonia, Central Pacific /tz:-11-11
+12:00 Fiji, Kamchatka, Marshall Is., Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand /tz:-12-12

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