Silly tech question

[Feelin' Naughty]

The clock on my computer loses time, about 10 minutes per week. It is really annoying. How do I fix it?

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Silly tech question

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Silly tech question

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Silly tech question

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

So...what is a CMOS battery? I'm showing my ignorance here but this is a desktop, I didn't realize it had batteries. I have a cable ISP and so it's always turned on as well. I'm so confused.....

 

[Guest]

 

[LukkyKnight]

CMOS battery is inside the case, usually about the size of a watch battery. You might ask somebody who's more comforatable in there for some help. In some annoying cases the battery may be soldered in place, but typically it just pops into a clip.

 

[Guest]

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

Emerald, no, it doesn't correct itself. I have to go to the control panel to do it.
It is a 18 month old Sony Vaio. I never turn it off except to re-boot. I shut it down during severe lightning storms.

Lukky, would it show me where the battery is located and the size etc. in the owner manual?

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

Hanns, thank you for your help. If it messes with the BIOS I won't change it myself.

 

[LukkyKnight]

Emerald, no, it doesn't correct itself. I have to go to the control panel to do it.
It is a 18 month old Sony Vaio. I never turn it off except to re-boot. I shut it down during severe lightning storms.

Lukky, would it show me where the battery is located and the size etc. in the owner manual?

Might, might not, I've never seen the Sony manuals. Worth looking in the index. Usually if it's a snap-clip (which most are) you can pop in a new one without losing settings, but it's a VERY GOOD IDEA to get somebody who understands this to make a few notes about your setup before doing so just in case.

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

O'kay, I'll get someone that knows how to come and do it for me.
I don't want to goof something up. *grin*

Thanks for the info!

 

[Mad_Jack_Rabbit]

But it's amazing just how much you can learn about something when you fuck it up.

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

ahh yes, I agree completely. However I have already had to erase the hard drive and re-install everything on this computer. It was not fun...thank God for Sony tech support

 

[The Heretic]

There is a simpler way to make your computer keep good time; you can use a program that periodically goes out and gets the correct time (down to the fraction of a second) from a time reference (usually an atomic clock somewhere) and then uses that to set the time on your computer.

One of these utilities is called Tardis, you can find it and others here:

http://www.horlogeparlante.com/synchro.htm?en=1

and elsewhere on the net.

The CMOS battery may or may not be getting low on your system, but that may or may not be the reason you lose 10 minutes per week. Computer clocks are notoriously imprecise. If your computer is more than a few years old it would'nt hurt to have someone in the know replace the battery - but I wouldn't let Hanns within a mile of my computer.

 

[LukkyKnight]

True, but if your CMOS battery is losing it, as is probably indicated by having trouble keeping accurate time, more is at stake than just the timestamp on your files. The symptom indicates that ultimately it may forget your setup info as well, such things as the details regarding your hard-drive, which is not a fun thing to have to recreate from scratch (for most people.)

 

[The Heretic]

True, but if your CMOS battery is losing it, as is probably indicated by having trouble keeping accurate time, more is at stake than just the timestamp on your files. The symptom indicates that ultimately it may forget your setup info as well, such things as the details regarding your hard-drive, which is not a fun thing to have to recreate from scratch (for most people.)

I agree (I misspelled would when I meant wouldn't), but just to be clear, some computers keep pretty lousy time. A fairly simple way to test the hypothesis is to see if the computer keeps good time when left on all the time - if it still loses time at the same rate, then it isn't the battery, and replacing it isn't going to solve the problem.

 

[RhumbRunner13]

What OS are you running? I had a problem with a brand new sys running XP Home and there was a software fix for it. I'd check before replacing the CMOS battery.

Mine was so slow at times I could watch the clock and see that it was running slow!

Rhumb

 

[The Heretic]

What OS are you running? I had a problem with a brand new sys running XP Home and there was a software fix for it. I'd check before replacing the CMOS battery.

I have seen computers lose 1-2 minutes per day while running, and that is just for 8-10 hours. As I said, many computers are not all that precise in how they keep time and the test is simple; leave the computer on for a while (a day or two) and see how much time it loses. Extrapolate that out and if it matches the observed behavior of 10 minutes per week then it is probably the computer and not the battery.

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

O'kay, you guys are scaring me, here I thought I just had a slow clock and it could be signs of other trouble??

My toy is a Sony Vaio RX360DS, P111 866 intel, running Windows ME. I bought it one year ago last April.

I never turn it off unless we're having a serious lightning storm.

Rhumb, now that's sloooooow. lol

 

[The Heretic]

I never turn it off unless we're having a serious lightning storm.

Since you never turn it off and still notice that you lose time, you probably just have a slow clock as I surmised. Get a time keeping utility (I used Tardis), set it up, and it will keep perfect time from then on. Problem solved.

 

[Feelin' Naughty]

Since you never turn it off and still notice that you lose time, you probably just have a slow clock as I surmised. Get a time keeping utility (I used Tardis), set it up, and it will keep perfect time from then on. Problem solved.

I just went and got Tardis. I had set my clock early this morning and when I installed the Tardis it corrected it by 67.something seconds.

Thank you all for the help.

 

[The Heretic]

Here is an interesting utility:

http://www.provenio.ws/saythetime/

It is part time sychronizer (will synch with any timer server), part alarm clock (it has reminders you can set), and part oral clock - i.e., it says the time (with a chime if you so choose) as often as you wish it to. And yes, you can tell it not to say the periodic time/chime at night time so it won't be waking you up unless yo uset a reminder.

Kind of spiffy actually; unlike many other audio programs, this one allows you to set it's volume separately from the system volume. I don't know that it is worth the $20 they are asking for it. You can download it and try it for 30 days if you wish.

 

[Willing and Unsure]

this has happened to me too, but mine gained about 10 minutes. I havent really thought anything of it since it's been rather consistent with the time since it gained it. I dont quite understand it and I dont try to either.