clock doesn't keep accurate time

[kevin]

The clock on my computer does not keep accurate time.
I am running windows xp. Has anyone else had this
problem? How do you fix it?

 

[Willit]

Change the cmos battery is the easiest way to see if
that's it. Find out what you have and go to Radio Shack.

 

[Kevin]

It isn't a cmos problem. It doesn't lose time while the
computer is off. It only loses time while I am using it
in windows.


Original message-----

 

[Colin Painter]

The battery maintains your clock when your pc is disconnected from its power
source. Once windows boots, this battery has no effect on the clock that
windows displays. The clock that windows displays is maintained by software.
I don't think anyone claims that a software clock is supposed to be very
accurate which is why network time protocols were invented. You can
configure XP to synchronize now and then with systems that have accurate
(very very accurate) clocks. To find out more about this right click on
your clock and select "adjust Date/Time" and look at the "Internet Time"
tab.

cp

 

[Guest]

I'm not worried about accurate time per se, but when my
computer is running, I'm losing 15-20 minutes within 6
hours. Thanks for all you input though.

 

[Ian A. White]

The clock on my computer does not keep accurate time.
I am running windows xp. Has anyone else had this
problem? How do you fix it?

There are two things to consider.

If the clock on the taskbar is drifting, then this does not mean that
the motherboard battery is on the way out. This is a software clock and
because of the nature of computers will lose fractions of a second from
time to time. These all add up.

If the time is drifting when you start up, then this could well be a
battery problem.

To fix the software clock, you will have to use software that accesses
various time servers and synchronises the software clock with the
server. XP does have one in the clock settings dialog, only it does it
every 2 weeks and I cannot find a way of setting this to a shorter
interval. An alternative program I am running is called NetTime 2. I
used a program called Dimension4 on my Win98/WinMe systems but it
refused to run under WinXP. NetTime does work. Do a google search for
it.

Hope this helps.

--

Ian A. White, CPEng
(e-mail address removed)
WAI Engineering
Sydney 2000
Australia

Ph: +61 418 203 229
Fax: +61 2 9622 0450
Home Page: www.wai.com.au

 

[Colin Painter]

This kind of loss is not within normal bounds. Something is causing XP to
miss a lot of clock interrupts (rather than just the occasional one here and
there). This could be caused by a poorly written driver. You may want to get
support from your card vendors.

 

[francis gerard]

one thing you can try is to temporarily disable automatic time
synchronization, then manually set the correct time. then monitor the
situation. the idea is to determine whether the auto-timesync feature is
the problem or not.

start menu, control panel, date and time

also be sure that your time zone is set correctly and that you've enabled
automatic daylight savings time adjustment, but if you have multiple
operating systems installed on your computer, enable auto-DST for only one
OS, doesn't matter which.

as one poster mentioned though, it does sound like interrupt problem.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Change the cmos battery is the easiest way to see if
that's it. Find out what you have and go to Radio Shack.

That - as has repeatedly been said - is *not* the problem if the clock
is running at the wrong rate. A bad battery shows as time that is
grossly wrong at boot.

First thing, if the accuracy is not way out, is to check at Control
Panel - Date and Time to see if Internet Time is set to synchronise
automatically. And if necessary, use the 'check now' each day for
several days. From that the system ought to learn what the actual rate
of the machine's 'clock' is and compensate. If it is then grossly out -
minutes in an hour;

Try these steps:

1. Start->Run cmd.exe
2. net stop w32time
3. w32tm.exe /unregister
4. w32tm.exe /register
5. net start w32time

(note spellings w32tm and w32time in different commands)

 

[Guest]

What is "cmos" referred to by Willet in messages? My clock used to keep very good time, but suddenly it is losing.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

CMOS is a special memory chip that keeps the configured hardware settings
(memory, floppy disks and hard drive settings). It usually has a battery to
provide power when the PC is turned off. Whenever the date/time is not kept
correctly, it can be a sign that the battery is failing. Most newer
motherboards allow the end-user to replace the battery ourselves. Open the
computer's case and locate the circular coin-cell type battery. Record the
size model (usually CR-????) and buy a replacement. Before you replace the
battery, go into the BIOS screens and record, on paper, the setting for each
option. Power down your computer and un-plug it from the power jack. Turn
it on again, so as to discharge the left-over power from inside. Carefully
locate the retention clip(s) near the battery and "pop" it out. Place the
new one in it's place. Re-connect the power and boot the PC into the BIOS
screens. Check and correct the settings, based on the ones you written
down. Then, do not forget to re-adjust the date/time. Then reboot into
Windows Xp.

Y

What is "cmos" referred to by Willet in messages? My clock used to keep

very good time, but suddenly it is losing.

 

[Alex Nichol]

What is "cmos" referred to by Willet in messages? My clock used to keep very good time, but suddenly it is losing.

It refers to the chip on the motherboard that includes memory for BIOS
settings and the clock that keeps time when the machine is powered off.
If your time keeping is bad when windows is running it is nothing to do
with this - the cmos clock only serves to give windows a start point
when you boot up.

Problems with the time keeping after that (Usually a fairly high and
steady rate of loss like 10 minutes in an hour) appear to result from
a conflict with the BIOS over the interval between 'timer interrupts'.
Windows maintains the clock by counting these, so if the interval is not
the expected one, the rate is grossly out in this manner.

Try these steps:

1. Start->Run cmd.exe
2. net stop w32time
3. w32tm.exe /unregister
4. w32tm.exe /register
5. net start w32time

(note spellings w32tm and w32time in different commands)