my computer clock

Jim Whitaker · Post by **Jim Whitaker** » 6 Feb 2003 4:23 pm

Why does my clock on my computer keep losing time??

Thanks

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JIM
"Carter SD10" "74" LTD & NASHVILLE 400, Profex II "55" Esquire, "63 Epiphone, "63" Precision,
"71" Jazz

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 6 Feb 2003 5:34 pm

Sounds like it's time to replace your motherboard battery. It's usually a lot easier than replacing a ProFex battery though.

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 6 Feb 2003 6:42 pm

While it's probably prudent to replace the battery, remember this.

A $10 el cheapo wristwatch that you might wear on your wrist will always keep better time than the one in your $2000 computer.

How could this be, you ask?

Simple. Your wrist and therefore your watch are always at 98.6 degrees F. That means no thermal stress on the watch which makes it very happy.

A computer goes through varying temperatures throughout its day and it confuses the heck out of your clock, although in very minute increments.

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 6 Feb 2003 8:18 pm

Yep, I have read numerous articles about the cheap-0 clocks the PC manufacturers use when making the computers. Your $10 K-Mart special will keep better time than your PC. I don't even bother with my clock on my PC anymore. Not worth it...

BE CAREFUL about replacing your Motherboard battery...it WILL loose all of your BIOS settings! Make sure you write down all of your BIOS settings before replacing the mobo battery. More than likely it is not the battery, but it is your clock. If it was the battery, than it would be reset everyday.

Mark

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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 6 Feb 2003 11:44 pm

Jim W.-- Almast certainly, your CMOS battery is needing replacement. Heed the advice about noting the current CMOS/BIOS settings. There are many programs available to save and restore that data but I don't remember specific ones at the moment. Do a search for BIOS or CMOS on www.download.com and you'll surely find several.

Mark-- *How* can the clock be PROPERLY set to the CORRECT current time without using some external program such as ExactTime??? That program (and others) *will* reset to the correct time by referencing the Navy Observatory or National Bureau of Standards, but that must be user invoked.

--Everett

Roger Kelly · Post by **Roger Kelly** » 7 Feb 2003 5:08 am

Your Power Line Frequency may be less than exactly 60 hertz, or may vary from 59 to 60?
That will make a difference for all clocks that use power line frequency for a reference....even computers.

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 7 Feb 2003 8:49 am

Everett,

There is no way to keep the clock regulated without an external application such as the one you mentioned.

I believe that most clocks do have time loss due to fluctuation in power to your PC. The clock on your PC is driven by a battery but also regulates itself to 60 cycles. I can guarantee that you will never get 60 cycles perfect from your electricity provider. So to sum it up, PC manufacturers put cheap clocks on the mother boards to save money and then ComEd or whoever your elec. provider is can't even give you 60 cycles all the time. That's 2 strikes.

Mark

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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 7 Feb 2003 9:00 am

Jim, how much time is your computer losing? If it's only a minute or two a day I wouldn't worry about it (yet). My girlfriend's resets itself to 1998 everytime she turns it on, but I just haven't taken the time (no pun intended) to see what battery it takes, and get one for her. That much variation can really screw up her virus program registration period.

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 7 Feb 2003 12:11 pm

Mark&others--- Yes, the line frequency may vary a bit and affect those clocks(computer or others) that regulate by the line HZ.

ALL computer clocks and many other 'digital' designs are regulated by crystal and binary arithmetic. Since our time divisions are NOT a 'power of 2', the value displayed will be slightly incorrect.

Neither of the conditions above should cause a clock to be off more than a minute or two per month. His battery is almost certainly 'going South' and should be replaced. Not that difficult or expensive, anyway. The local drugstore probably has them for about $3. --Everett

Jeff Agnew · Post by **Jeff Agnew** » 9 Feb 2003 3:00 pm

You could try AboutTime. It's a tiny app that synchs to several network time servers and adjusts the PC clock automatically. You can schedule it using the Task Manager or just make it a startup item and leave it running in the System Tray.

John Gretzinger · Post by **John Gretzinger** » 13 Feb 2003 11:58 pm

If you are running W2K, NT or XP, you can set the Windows Time Service to do the check to a reference time server on the Internet. There are programs that do this if you don't want to go into the registry and make the modifications. The one I use on W98 machines is Automachron - available from ntp.org, however it works on all versions of Windows.

This site also has NTP software (Network Time Protocol)for MACs, Unix, and a bunch of other operating systems.

Enjoy,

jdg

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MSA D-10 w/Nashville 400
'63 Gibson Hummingbird
16/15c Hammered Dulcimer