Internet time

[JD]

Hi,

My Dell XP (0.5 year old) has a problem in its clock. It always gives me
wrong time. It happens even after I manually change the time. Eventually
I have to download a utility that is scheduled to automatically adjust time
several times a day. But still the computer still switches time to a wrong
one sometimes. I try to check and uncheck different options (e.g.
"automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes", "automatically
adjust clock via internet") in XP's "date and time properties" dialog. It
doesn't help. Is it a hardware issue? Any help is much appreciated. I am
quite frustrated with recent Dell's quality.

JD

 

[Shenan Stanley]

My Dell XP (0.5 year old) has a problem in its clock. It always
gives me wrong time. It happens even after I manually change the
time. Eventually I have to download a utility that is scheduled
to automatically adjust time several times a day. But still the
computer still switches time to a wrong one sometimes. I try to
check and uncheck different options (e.g. "automatically adjust
clock for daylight saving changes", "automatically adjust clock via
internet") in XP's "date and time properties" dialog. It doesn't
help. Is it a hardware issue? Any help is much appreciated. I am
quite frustrated with recent Dell's quality.

Half a year old and you have not contacted Dell? I know of very few *new*
Dell's that don't come with at least a years worth of support. My first
advice - therefore - is contact Dell. They support the hardware *and* the
software that is on it.

First - make sure your time zone is set correctly.
Second - you have a built in application that updates the time.
Third - is this a desktop or laptop type computer?
Fourth - if you turn off the computer for an hour or more (best over night)
and turn it on and do NOT boot into Windows XP - but instead go into the
system BIOS (system setup - likely by pressing F2 at system startup before
the Windows Logo ever appears) and check what time the machine has - is it
correct?

 

[Charles W Davis]

Half a year old and you have not contacted Dell? I know of very few *new*
Dell's that don't come with at least a years worth of support. My first
advice - therefore - is contact Dell. They support the hardware *and* the
software that is on it.

First - make sure your time zone is set correctly.
Second - you have a built in application that updates the time.
Third - is this a desktop or laptop type computer?
Fourth - if you turn off the computer for an hour or more (best over
night) and turn it on and do NOT boot into Windows XP - but instead go
into the system BIOS (system setup - likely by pressing F2 at system
startup before the Windows Logo ever appears) and check what time the
machine has - is it correct?

There is a little battery on the main board that may be defective...

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

There is a little battery on the main board that may be defective...

Given that he says, "It happens even after I manually change the
time," it doesn't sound like it. Before anyone whose clock is running
slow rushes out to buy a new battery, he should first take note of
whether he is losing time while the computer is running or while it's
powered off. If it's while powered off, the problem *is* very likely
the battery. But if it's while running, it can *not* be the battery,
because the battery isn't used while the computer is running.