Computer Losing Time

[duratanium]

After seeing the clock on the computer lose time I replaced the CMOS battery and expected all to be ok.

Wrong!!

After 8 hours of the computer being turned off overnight I re-started it and found the clock had lost a further 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Now I am puzzled as to why this should happen especially as the battery is new and came in its proper packaging.

Any ideas please?

thx

[Gumballl]

Although highly unlikely, it could be that the crystal in the motherboard clock has deteriorated. How old is the motherboard?

Have you tried leaving your PC on overnight? Does the time still drift?

[elkangorito]

After seeing the clock on the computer lose time I replaced the CMOS battery and expected all to be ok.

Wrong!!

After 8 hours of the computer being turned off overnight I re-started it and found the clock had lost a further 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Now I am puzzled as to why this should happen especially as the battery is new and came in its proper packaging.

Any ideas please?

thx

It could also be that the battery you bought is almost kaput. Remove it & check the open circuit voltage with a multimeter (if you have one) or try buying another battery from a different store.

[RKASA]

If the battery fails to keep clock running the date should revert to preset date and time every time you restart. Sounds like some kind of VCO drift, but battery is cheap a diff. one might do it if its just low output. If not it may be a case of going into a shop.

[duratanium]

The computer itself is about 6 months old. That will make 2 batteries in 6 months. There could be a defect in the crystal.

As for it reverting to present time and date, if the CMOS battery is failing then surely the computer will show the BIOS time?

The computer is on all day 12+ hours with no loss of time. It does only occur when turned off at night when there is (obviously) no power there.

I can always get a 3rd battery when I go to town next but feel that will not solve the problem. I will get one though, just in case the new one is duff.

The computer does not seem to be affected in its operations as I would have expected from a bad or almost defunct battery.

[rychrde]

Have you made note of how much time it loses every night? always 1hr and a bit? could be the timezone setting.

have you tried synchronizing the internet time in date and Time properties?

Is the PC really switched off, and the modem?

which OS? is the DOS prompt time the same as the Windows time?

questions, questions!

rych

[Carmine6]

Have you made note of how much time it loses every night? always 1hr and a bit? could be the timezone setting.

have you tried synchronizing the internet time in date and Time properties?

Is the PC really switched off, and the modem?

which OS? is the DOS prompt time the same as the Windows time?

questions, questions!

rych

This was my first thought as well.

By the way no meter required to check the battery, just touch it to your tongue and make sure you're getting the top and bottom. You'll know if there's a voltage there. You should barely feel anything if it's really worn out.

[opalhort]

After seeing the clock on the computer lose time I replaced the CMOS battery and expected all to be ok.

Wrong!!

After 8 hours of the computer being turned off overnight I re-started it and found the clock had lost a further 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Now I am puzzled as to why this should happen especially as the battery is new and came in its proper packaging.

Any ideas please?

thx

We had a problem like that two years ago with a PC. The clock lost exactly 4hrs10mins whenever it was shut down over night. NOTE: it was only software shut down but not disconnected from the mains!

The PC was only 8 month old and the shop replaced the motherboard under warranty and since then all is OK.

Since your PC is still quite new I suggest you take it to the shop and get it fixed.

opalhort

[Rice_King]

While this "fix" does not address the cause of your PC's time loss, forcing the machine to perform an internet time sync every few hours should, at minimum, keep it running on-time.

Adjust Internet Time Synchronization

[elkangorito]

Although highly unlikely, it could be that the crystal in the motherboard clock has deteriorated. How old is the motherboard?

Have you tried leaving your PC on overnight? Does the time still drift?

Some motherboards do not use crystals for a time base - they use PLL (Phase Locked Loop).

Also bear in mind that the BIOS & the CMOS both rely on the battery to keep anything other than the default ROM settings.

[elkangorito]

Although highly unlikely, it could be that the crystal in the motherboard clock has deteriorated. How old is the motherboard?

Have you tried leaving your PC on overnight? Does the time still drift?

Some motherboards do not use crystals for a time base - they use PLL (Phase Locked Loop).

Also bear in mind that the BIOS & the CMOS both rely on the battery to keep anything other than the default ROM settings.

I meant to say 'crystal-less' PLL.

[southbot]

I have had exactly this problem 2 times.

I have it right now on a one year old Mobo, I have tested the Mobo and there is nothing wrong at all.

The BIOS/CMOS battery is brand new.

But now and then, when the computer is shut down overnight, it looses exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes, exactly that every time.

It only happens now and then, a few times a month or so. Messes me up though because I don't wear a watch and that clock on the task bar is where I time my day... can be almost fatal.

I can find no solution to this problem this time.

This happened to me several years ago in an office in Bangkok. The clock would loose time overnight and some other errors, printer problems, BSOD now and the....

We worked that one out back then, the computer was on a desk against a wall. That wall was the back of an elevator shaft. On that exact section of wall behind the desk was the big bunch of cables.

It seems that if the lift was working hard, overloaded, stuff like that, there'd be power surges up and down that cable bunch and this caused electro magnetic stuff to pump out and that messed up the computer and printer.

We moved that computer and had no further issues, however you could not even run a fax proplerly from that location in the office.

So maybe the electro magnetic radiation is getting at your computer? Or you have a secret military base nearby that emits microwaves? Or there are aliens in your house emitting something?

Good luck. My computer still looses 1 hr 20 min now and then, and my day gets a bit messy.