Times changed after DST

[Just Plain Rick]

I have a job that runs at 3:10am every day and sends me an email with the
results. All the emails before the change to DST were timed with 3:10am.
when viewed on days b4 DST. Now after the change all of these emails are
timed at 4:10am. The job that ran on the 15th is timed at 3:10am.
All of my time related options appear to be correct.

Why did the time change on emails processed b4 DST???

This also happened to files and their 'Date Modified' as viewed in windows
explorer.

It now appears if I need to prove that I created a file or sent an email at
a particular time prior to DST, it will show up as happening an hour later
that when it really happened.

Does this not suck?

 

[Sam Hobbs]

Chances are excellent that you have not checked the time in the system that
sends the messages.

Or are you spamming this newsgroup with complaints that you don't want to
fix? If you want to fix it, please post a request for assistance in the
group for which the problem is relevant. The problem is not a Windows Mail
problem and therefore not relevant here. You don't specify what the other
system is; if you don't know, you should have spent time determining that
instead of wasting time complaining here.

 

[Peter Foldes]

No it does not suck. What grade in the School system did you complete. Common sense
tells me that your time calculation as far as the DST goes is way off. Your computer
was correct and your understanding of the time change is not there. Sorry but that
is the fact

 

[Just Plain Rick]

I thought I had a valid question. The reason i posted in this venue was
because I first noticed the problem in windows mail. I have only one
computer. My backup program sends me a email with the result of the
operation. It all happens on the same machine. And when I see times on
emails last week that showed 3:10am and after the DST change it shows 4:10am
and inside the email it notes the operation ended as 3:10am I say something
unusual is happening.

If you tried to help with a solution instead of trying to put me down, the
world would be a better place.

 

[Just Plain Rick]

Sam, you only assumed there was more than one system involved. One system,
One time.
Spamming? Really dude, look it up.
I am not complaining, just asking for clarification.
It is relevant in this group because it shows up in windows mail.
I am assuming you are an employee of microsoft and have throughly researched
this inquiry in the few hours from the time I posted it until your reply.
The only waste of time was your reply and my having to reply to you.

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

You said, "My backup program sends me a email."
That can't happen unless a mail server is involved. Where is the mail server?

A time stamp without a time zone reference is worthless. Have you looked
at the hidden headers of that message? (Ctrl+F3)

 

[Just Plain Rick]

The reason for sending the email is if I'm out of town I can verify if my
backups ran successfully by checking my email. If the backups ran there is
a good chance the system is still up and running.
The email is sent to my mailbox at 'smtp.att.yahoo.com'.

Here is the first line of the source msg. (email name changed by me)
X-Apparently-To: xxx@yyy via 69.147.92.123; Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:10:37 -0800

Here is the text of the email I received
Backup "Daily_Backup" completed successfully at "3/13/2010 3:10:36 AM"
without errors or warnings.

When I look at the 'received msg pane' it says it was received 3/13/2010
4:10 AM. when it actually happened at 3/13/2010 3:10 AM.

DST was not active 3/13/2010 therefore shouldn't the times still read 3:10.

Thks Gary for your response. Maybe you won't flame me for asking questions.

You said, "My backup program sends me a email."
That can't happen unless a mail server is involved. Where is the mail
server?

A time stamp without a time zone reference is worthless. Have you looked
at the hidden headers of that message? (Ctrl+F3)

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

Thanks for including all the information I asked for. It makes my job
easy.
Let's see. Based on your IP address you are located near Miami, which
(as of 3/13) was on Eastern Standard Time (GMT -0500).
Look at the first line of the headers you quoted: 01:10 -0800 is
equivalent to 04:10 -0500 (your time zone). So, assuming the mail server's
clock is correct (very likely for a major outfit like AT&T/Yahoo), then
whatever generated the line " Backup "Daily_Backup" completed
successfully at "3/13/2010 3:10:36 AM" is incorrect.

 

[Just Plain Rick]

Evidently my IP address lies. I live in Memphis which is in the Central
Time Zone

In my testing of running the backup program 'Backup4all Pro' I can attest to
the fact that the line that gives completion times is correct. I have many
times run this backup at different times during the day while testing. I
would run the backup, get the email, and confirm the times. Mainly I was
looking to see that the backup ran okay. The time in the email line was
gravy. And like I've said, all was okay until DST went into effective.
I have looked at other dates and found that in the Event Viewer all the
times are correct. I can find the event and it has a 3:10 am date no matter
if its CST or CDT. I guess this situation doesn't bother anyone else as I
haven't seen any other postings about it.

Thnks, I appreciate the time you have spent.


Thanks for including all the information I asked for. It makes my job
easy.
Let's see. Based on your IP address you are located near Miami, which
(as of 3/13) was on Eastern Standard Time (GMT -0500).
Look at the first line of the headers you quoted: 01:10 -0800 is
equivalent to 04:10 -0500 (your time zone). So, assuming the mail server's
clock is correct (very likely for a major outfit like AT&T/Yahoo), then
whatever generated the line " Backup "Daily_Backup" completed
successfully at "3/13/2010 3:10:36 AM" is incorrect.

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

It doesn't happen often, but the IP address locater I used was inaccurate
for your IP address.
So the mail server time stamp actually translates to 03:10 -0600 (CST),
which agrees with your backup software. When you now view that
message in Windows Mail, it will translate that header time stamp to
04:10 -0500 (CDT), using the current (DST) time reference. All you will
see in the Windows Mail GUI is that "4:10 am" part. The hidden headers
will tell the full story.

 

[Sam Hobbs]

The world would be a much better place if people were clear about what they
want to say. You spent more time complaining than you did explaining. People
often are not clear, so people trying to help others are forced to make the
best guess possible.

Your assumption that I am a Microsoft employee is inaccurate. There are no
Microsoft employees or representatives here; only volunteers trying to help
others. Note that it is unlikely you would get a response as quickly as you
did from a Microsoft employee or representative.

When people are not clear, people trying to help must spend time asking for
clarification. Don't criticize others when they are unable to guess
accurately because you are not clear. When you said that a message is sent
to you, it is a valid assumption that the message is sent from another
system; you said nothing indicating otherwise. You also did not explain how
the message is generated or anything that could be used to accurately
diagnose the problem. Gary had to post a couple of messages to get enough
facts to be able to diagnose the situation. It is unfortunately too common
that questions need to be clarified and I am not criticizing that; I am
saying that (1) you spent too much time complaining and (2) don't criticize
some more when someone guesses incorrectly based on incomplete information.

 

[Just Plain Rick]

Sam, In my original post I asked two questions. "Why did the time change"
and "Did it suck". No complaints. Gary (who made the most relevant
comments) asked for info from my email msgs which I supplied. He thanked
me. I am not complaining but questioning the philosophy of the whole DST
handling of times. There is nothing for me to fix since this all pertains
to purchased software. You have not offered the slightest bit of help. All
you did was criticize. The employee comment was a bit of sarcasm. How in
the two hours between my post and your answer could you have made any
attempt to analyze the situation I was describing. Your first reaction was
to light a match. And Peter's first response was to question my education.
I have over 35 years in the Data Processing Industry. From Computer
Operator to Programmer Analyst. I was an Asst VP with one of the largest
banking systems in the world. I don't question the method of computing
times, just the business of going back in time and changing something that
has already happened.

Gary, thanks for your insight. I will turn off the DST function and see if
my dates are displayed as I thing they should be.
Thks all for the discussion.