System clock in subtray losing time 2

[Guest_imported]

I have a report of a person's clock in the system sub-tray is losing time. They are asking if the system needs a new battery. The system is only about 2-3 years old and I personally have never needed to replace a battery in any system. I've searched for an answer to this question and haven't found a thing. My answer would be "no" you don't need a battery, but I don't have an answer as to why her computer, or other people's computer's lose time.

 

[butchrecon]

How many systems are loosing time? Most of the time it is due to the system battery is dead or dieing. Remember that because one system can go 5 years on the clock battery does not nessisarily mean that all clock batteries will last. Just like any electronic part a battery can die prematurly. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[cdogg]

There are a few reasons for this. One of course, is the battery. Like James said, sometimes these fail "prematurly". However, there are other possibilities. The clock on the mobo is actually a quartz clock known as the RTC. Every time you reboot the system, Windows 9x/ME will sync itself within one second of this clock. However, it is important to note that Windows 9x/ME only does this upon rebooting, and NOT while it's running. So, it really depends on how often you reboot. The "software" clock in the OS isn't very efficient if the system is taxed heavily by other software apps running in the background which have higher priority interrupt requests.

The only other possibility is that the RTC is going bad. Many factors can cause this, but the most common is extreme temperatures. If exposed to extreme temperatures long enough, the quartz crystal can becomed "warped" so to speak. Therefore, the internal counting mechanism can fall off to seconds, or even minutes a day if damaged enough.

check this site out for more info:

http://www.beaglesoft.com/mainfaqclock.htm

~cdogg

 

[Jovah]

In my experience, a dying battery is usually the culprit when a pc clock starts running slow; most last for a lot longer than 2-3n years but there are exceptions (defective batteries, etc.) You've got a few options that I'm aware of:

1. Go to the website of the motherboard manufacturer and see if there's a recall/tech advice.
2. Replace the battery now.
3. Run a "net time" command from the command prompt so the machine will automatically sync up w/ an atomic clock from the Internet. To do this, first type

net time /setsmtp: 192.5.41.209

then:

net time /set /y

This command woks best on servers, then you can set a batch file that will autoupdate users when they login. The batch file we use is

net use \\(server name) /set /y
exit

Just know that option #3 won't fix the underlying problem, only conceal it; so if your battery IS bad, your user will get a nasty surprise one of these days...Good luck.

Matt

 

[reghakr]

Possibility, this MS Knowledge base articleZ:

Windows Clock on Taskbar and in Date/Time Tool Loses Time

------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition

------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Date/Time tool to select a different year, the clock may stop until you click Apply or OK and the clock does not compensate for the length of time it was stopped.

or
When you use the Date/Time tool to select a different month or date, the time may be decreased by 5-10 seconds.

or
When you leave your computer on for an extended amount of time, the time may lose two minutes up to an hour per day.

IMPORTANT: The CMOS does keep the correct time and if you restart the computer, the Windows clock is updated. Also, if you start your computer in Safe Mode, Windows does not lose time.
NOTE: If either of the symptoms listed in this article occur, the Windows clock on the taskbar and in the Date/Time tool in Control Panel may experience a loss of time.

CAUSE
This last symptom listed in this article can occur for either of the following reasons:

Advanced Power Management (APM) settings are enabled in the BIOS.

You configure your computer to use third-party anti-virus, system utility, and screen saver programs.

RESOLUTION
To resolve the issue for the last symptom listed in this article, use one of the following methods:

APM Settings
Disable APM in the BIOS and configure Windows to manage APM. For information about how to disable APM in the BIOS, please contact the manufacturer of your computer.

To configure Windows to manage APM, follow these steps:
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Power Management icon, select the settings you want for APM, and then click OK.

Disable Third-Party Programs and Utilities
Disable the following types of programs and utilities:

Anti-virus
Screen savers
System utilities

Clean Boot
Configure your computer to start with a clean boot. For additional information about configuring a clean boot, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98
Q243039 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 95

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION
If your computer loses time, use the Date/Time tool to set the correct time. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Date/Time icon.

On the Date & Time tab, configure the correct time, and then click OK.

To determine if the time loss is a result of a weak computer battery, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.

At the command prompt, type time, and then press ENTER.

Compare this time with the time reported by the clock on the taskbar.

Type exit, and then press ENTER.

If the computer's time and the time on the clock are different, the computer's battery may be too weak to keep accurate time, and it should be replaced. For information about how to replace the battery, refer to the documentation included with your computer.

NOTE: This problem does not affect the clock in your computer's CMOS.

reghakr

 

[cdogg]

reghakr,

Your official post from Microsoft is great, but basically says that a reboot should sync the clocks back together. However, it also recommends disabling power management to see if that's the cause.

It is important to note here that if rebooting periodically doesn't help and replacing the battery doesn't help, then the RTC on the mobo has gone bad.

9 times out of 10, it is the battery. If you reboot at least once daily, it shouldn't be the OS causing the problem...

 

[princewilly]

Leave your pc in safe mode for 24 hours, if your pc keeps loosing time, that means you have a bad battery.
If the pc keeps the time in safe mode that means a program on your pc is causing the problem.

 

[Jovah]

The batch file I described above is kinda wrong; here's the correct version:

The batch file we use is:

net time \\(server name) /set /y
exit

Sorry about that. I just noticed the mistake....

MD

 

[commeng777]

Many programs utilize the microprocessor and load it down ocasionally causing a clock cycle to be missed and thus losing 1/1000ths of a second, enough of these lost clock cycles and they add up to seconds then minutes etc. Our network consists of 10-12 pc's all of them loose 1-5 minutes per day (24 hours)and it is not a battery issue. Most now run "atomic clock sync" from

http://www.worldtimeserver.com/

It is a non issue now. Try it and see if it works for you.
RGD