Unplugged for move -- on power up, clock shows unplug date/time

[jfire7887]

PC disconnected 11/24 at 10pm for move on 11/25. Powered up 11/25 at 7pm,
but shows 11/24 10pm. Is this something that should not be, or did I just
not wait long enough before manually fixing it? It is a Dell Dimension L_r
that was originally shipped with ME but was upgraded to XP.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

PC disconnected 11/24 at 10pm for move on 11/25. Powered up 11/25 at 7pm,
but shows 11/24 10pm. Is this something that should not be, or did I just
not wait long enough before manually fixing it? It is a Dell Dimension L_r
that was originally shipped with ME but was upgraded to XP.

Assuming 11/24 and 11/25 really mean 25/11 and 24/11 (-:, then no, it
shouldn't be; suggests the internal clock stopped. Not sure what you
mean by "wait long enough before manually fixing it".

It's unusual for the clock just to stop - it usually reverts to Jan 1
1980 or something like that, depending on the clock chip.

The usual reason is it's not getting power from the internal cell. This
could be because it is failing - a PC originally shipped with Me will be
a fair few years old now, and I've heard a figure of five years for the
cells (though IME they usually last far longer than that), or because it
has jarred loose in the move. Have a look (and if you have a voltmeter,
measure it - it should be at least 3 volts - I think they start around
3.2, and the circuitry will work down to surprisingly low, approaching
1.5 or 1.7): it's almost certain to be a CR2032, a round flat cell.

If it is failing (cell running down or loose), the PC may start to lose
other important settings, so don't leave it long; at worst, it can
corrupt the settings for the HD (number of sectors and cylinders), which
_could_ cause the PC to corrupt the HD in a way which would be difficult
to recover from, though in most cases it'll just autofind the settings
correctly each boot.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

Are you sure your circuits are functioning correctly? Your ears are green!

 

[Tim Meddick]

Mr Gilliver - May I suggest that the UK is not the only country in the world, and
that the OP was probably posting out of the USA where you may possibly realize that
they use the reverse of our notation for month/date, or should I say date/month?

You should expand your view on the world into a "world view"...

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Mr Gilliver - May I suggest that the UK is not the only country in the
world, and that the OP was probably posting out of the USA where you
may possibly realize that they use the reverse of our notation for
month/date, or should I say date/month?

You should expand your view on the world into a "world view"...

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

I realised that, certainly; you may not have noticed the smiley. I was
just in effect saying the same thing as you, but from the other
perspective (-:
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

There are more bits in a 32-ton lorry driving up the motorway than the whole BT
net carries in an hour. (Duncan Hine of the Post Office, in Computing
1997-4-10)

 

[Tim Meddick]

Thankyou for the feedback......

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.