How to print the current time in a Batch-File?

This works with Windows 10, 8.x, 7, and possibly further back:

@echo Started: %date% %time%
.
.
.
@echo Completed: %date% %time%

we can easily print the current time and date using echo and system variables as below.

echo %DATE% %TIME%

output example: 13-Sep-19 15:53:05.62

Not sure if your question was answered.

This will write the time & date every 20 seconds in the file ping_ip.txt. The second to last line just says run the same batch file again, and agan, and again,..........etc.

Does not seem to create multiple instances, so that's a good thing.

@echo %time% %date% >>ping_ip.txt
ping -n 20 -w 3 127.0.0.1 >>ping_ip.txt
This_Batch_FileName.bat
cls

If you use the command

time /T

that will print the time. (without the /T, it will try to set the time)

date /T

is similar for the date.

If cmd's Command Extensions are enabled (they are enabled by default, but in this question they appear to be disabled), then the environment variables %DATE% and %TIME% will expand to the current date and time each time they are expanded. The format used is the same as the DATE and TIME commands.

To see the other dynamic environment variables that exist when Command Extensions are enabled, run set /?.