Losing Tine

Rainy · Jul 21, 2007

I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing time
when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I could
use the clock sync program.. Rainy
'Rainy' wrote:
| thanks Phil.. Rainy
_____

Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will help
other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping those
who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
precise answers has not been wasted.

Phil Weldon

| thanks Phil.. Rainy
| | 'Rainy wrote:
|
|| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
computer
|| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
didn't
|| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I did..
| So
|| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
| _____
|
| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not solve
the
| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the problem.
|
| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
off.
| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer is
| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the computer
is
| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
| battery.
|
| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to reset
| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
Internet.
| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|
| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
COULD
| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have no
| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
| program would STILL be of no help.
|
| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
who
| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
CMOS
| batteries over the last 25 years.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || || 'Rainy' wrote:
||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to my
||| motherboard?
|| _____
||
|| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
| almost
|| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth US
|| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
the
|| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure the
|| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a pencil
| to
|| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
battery
|| on the motherboard.
||
|| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings because
|| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just let
| the
|| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference in
| the
|| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any settings.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to my
||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||| ||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
fixes
||| the problem.
|||
|||
||| --
||| Don
||| Vancouver, USA
||| ||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks Rainy
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Phil Weldon · Jul 21, 2007

Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
resolution.

To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in my
earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
battery.

Phil Weldon

| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
time
|| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
| could
|| use the clock sync program..
| _____
|
| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or change
| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
| replace the CMOS battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| ||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
time
|| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
| could
|| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|| _____
||
|| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
|| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
help
|| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
those
|| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
|| precise answers has not been wasted.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy wrote:
|||
|||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
|| computer
|||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
|| didn't
|||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
| did..
||| So
|||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
||| _____
|||
||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not solve
|| the
||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
problem.
|||
||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
|| off.
||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer is
||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the computer
|| is
||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
||| battery.
|||
||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
reset
||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
|| Internet.
||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|||
||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
|| COULD
||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
no
||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
||| program would STILL be of no help.
|||
||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
|| who
||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
|| CMOS
||| batteries over the last 25 years.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
| my
||||| motherboard?
|||| _____
||||
|||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
||| almost
|||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
| US
|||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
|| the
|||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure the
|||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
pencil
||| to
|||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
|| battery
|||| on the motherboard.
||||
|||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
because
|||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just let
||| the
|||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
in
||| the
|||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
| settings.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
| my
||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||||| ||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
|| fixes
||||| the problem.
|||||
|||||
||||| --
||||| Don
||||| Vancouver, USA
||||| ||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
| Rainy
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 21, 2007

yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
'Rainy' wrote:
|I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing time
| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
could
| use the clock sync program..
_____

You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or change
the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
replace the CMOS battery.

Phil Weldon

|I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing time
| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
could
| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| thanks Phil.. Rainy
| _____
|
| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will help
| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping those
| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
| precise answers has not been wasted.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || thanks Phil.. Rainy
|| || 'Rainy wrote:
||
||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
| computer
||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
| didn't
||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
did..
|| So
||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|| _____
||
|| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not solve
| the
|| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the problem.
||
|| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
| off.
|| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer is
|| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the computer
| is
|| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
|| battery.
||
|| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to reset
|| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
| Internet.
|| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
|| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||
|| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
| COULD
|| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have no
|| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
|| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
|| program would STILL be of no help.
||
|| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
| who
|| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
| CMOS
|| batteries over the last 25 years.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
my
|||| motherboard?
||| _____
|||
||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
|| almost
||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
US
||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
| the
||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure the
||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a pencil
|| to
||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
| battery
||| on the motherboard.
|||
||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings because
||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just let
|| the
||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference in
|| the
||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
settings.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
my
|||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||| |||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
| fixes
|||| the problem.
||||
||||
|||| --
|||| Don
|||| Vancouver, USA
|||| |||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
Rainy
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Phil Weldon · Jul 22, 2007

'Rainy' wrote:
| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
_____

You need some background here.

The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during replacement.
ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.

When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the BIOS
checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able to
start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).

After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of a
dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the default
settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to change
the settings.

All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in any
way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.

IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)

The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on the
retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to start
up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
DIED.

But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
if necessary, the original settings can be used.

Phil Weldon

|I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| | Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
| resolution.
|
| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
my
| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
| battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
|||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program..
|| _____
||
|| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
change
|| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
|| replace the CMOS battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| _____
|||
||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
| help
||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
| those
||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||
||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||| computer
||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||| didn't
||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|| did..
|||| So
||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||| _____
||||
|||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
solve
||| the
|||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
| problem.
||||
|||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
||| off.
|||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
is
|||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
computer
||| is
|||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
|||| battery.
||||
|||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
| reset
|||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||| Internet.
|||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
|||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||
|||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||| COULD
|||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
| no
|||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
|||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
|||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||
|||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
||| who
|||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
||| CMOS
|||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard?
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
|||| almost
||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
|| US
||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
||| the
||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
the
||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
| pencil
|||| to
||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||| battery
||||| on the motherboard.
|||||
||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
| because
||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
let
|||| the
||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
| in
|||| the
||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|| settings.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||| |||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||| fixes
|||||| the problem.
||||||
||||||
|||||| --
|||||| Don
|||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||| |||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|| Rainy
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 22, 2007

I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
resolution.

To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in my
earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
battery.

Phil Weldon

| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
time
|| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
| could
|| use the clock sync program..
| _____
|
| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or change
| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
| replace the CMOS battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| ||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
time
|| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
| could
|| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|| _____
||
|| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
|| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
help
|| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
those
|| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
|| precise answers has not been wasted.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy wrote:
|||
|||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
|| computer
|||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
|| didn't
|||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
| did..
||| So
|||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
||| _____
|||
||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not solve
|| the
||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
problem.
|||
||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
|| off.
||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer is
||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the computer
|| is
||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
||| battery.
|||
||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
reset
||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
|| Internet.
||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|||
||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
|| COULD
||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
no
||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
||| program would STILL be of no help.
|||
||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
|| who
||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
|| CMOS
||| batteries over the last 25 years.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
| my
||||| motherboard?
|||| _____
||||
|||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
||| almost
|||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
| US
|||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
|| the
|||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure the
|||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
pencil
||| to
|||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
|| battery
|||| on the motherboard.
||||
|||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
because
|||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just let
||| the
|||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
in
||| the
|||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
| settings.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
| my
||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||||| ||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
|| fixes
||||| the problem.
|||||
|||||
||||| --
||||| Don
||||| Vancouver, USA
||||| ||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
| Rainy
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 22, 2007

thank you so much... I have not changed anything in the bios except for boot
order. I'm assuming the default boot order would be floppy? I appreciate
your input and will save this in my tech folder for future reference..
thanks again..Rainy
'Rainy' wrote:
| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
_____

You need some background here.

The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during replacement.
ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.

When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the BIOS
checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able to
start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).

After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of a
dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the default
settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to change
the settings.

All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in any
way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.

IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)

The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on the
retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to start
up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
DIED.

But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
if necessary, the original settings can be used.

Phil Weldon

|I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| | Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
| resolution.
|
| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
my
| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
| battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
|||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program..
|| _____
||
|| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
change
|| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
|| replace the CMOS battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| _____
|||
||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
| help
||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
| those
||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||
||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||| computer
||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||| didn't
||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|| did..
|||| So
||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||| _____
||||
|||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
solve
||| the
|||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
| problem.
||||
|||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
||| off.
|||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
is
|||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
computer
||| is
|||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
|||| battery.
||||
|||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
| reset
|||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||| Internet.
|||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
|||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||
|||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||| COULD
|||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
| no
|||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
|||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
|||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||
|||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
||| who
|||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
||| CMOS
|||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard?
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
|||| almost
||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
|| US
||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
||| the
||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
the
||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
| pencil
|||| to
||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||| battery
||||| on the motherboard.
|||||
||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
| because
||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
let
|||| the
||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
| in
|||| the
||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|| settings.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||| |||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||| fixes
|||||| the problem.
||||||
||||||
|||||| --
|||||| Don
|||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||| |||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|| Rainy
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Ken Blake, MVP · Jul 22, 2007

thank you so much... I have not changed anything in the bios except for boot
order.

However, note that whoever built your system *may* have changed other
things from their default.

I'm assuming the default boot order would be floppy? I appreciate
your input and will save this in my tech folder for future reference..
thanks again..Rainy
'Rainy' wrote:
| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
_____

You need some background here.

The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during replacement.
ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.

When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the BIOS
checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able to
start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).

After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of a
dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the default
settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to change
the settings.

All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in any
way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.

IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)

The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on the
retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to start
up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
DIED.

But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
if necessary, the original settings can be used.

Phil Weldon

|I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| | Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
| resolution.
|
| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
my
| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
| battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
|||I already did.. and it's still losing time.. as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program..
|| _____
||
|| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
change
|| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
|| replace the CMOS battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I already did.. and it's still losing time.. as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| _____
|||
||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
| help
||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
| those
||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||
||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||| computer
||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||| didn't
||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|| did..
|||| So
||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||| _____
||||
|||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
solve
||| the
|||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
| problem.
||||
|||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
||| off.
|||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
is
|||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
computer
||| is
|||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
|||| battery.
||||
|||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
| reset
|||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||| Internet.
|||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
|||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||
|||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||| COULD
|||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
| no
|||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
|||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
|||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||
|||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
||| who
|||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
||| CMOS
|||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard?
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
|||| almost
||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
|| US
||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
||| the
||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
the
||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
| pencil
|||| to
||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||| battery
||||| on the motherboard.
|||||
||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
| because
||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
let
|||| the
||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
| in
|||| the
||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|| settings.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||| |||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||| fixes
|||||| the problem.
||||||
||||||
|||||| --
|||||| Don
|||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||| |||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|| Rainy
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 26, 2007

I'm still waiting for my friend to find time to install the battery, she is
a busy lady. .but will write to the group to let you know if that did the
trick.. thanks, Rainy
Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks Rainy

Phil Weldon · Jul 27, 2007

'Rainy' wrote:
| I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
_____

Not to rub it in, but how many times in this thread was it suggested you
write down the BIOS settings? Computers really are very persnickety. It
ain't complicated, but then it ain't horseshoes either B^) - Ask me HOW I
know computers are persnickety B^)

If you write down ALL the changeable settings for your BIOS and post it
here, very likely you can get a reply that will explain whether any setting
need to be changed from default, and what the new settings should be (some
settings are trivial, the key repetition rate, for example - how many times
a second a key stroke is repeated when you hold it down.)

The time and date being set to six years earlier is pretty standard since
the original versions of many current BIOS cores were written about that
long ago.

Desktop computer CMOS battery life probably depends on what percentage of
the time your system is plugged in to an active AC receptacle AND the rear
panel power supply switch, if any, is turned ON; the CMOS battery is not
used in this circumstance.

Phil Weldon

|I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| _____
|
| You need some background here.
|
| The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during
replacement.
| ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
| will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.
|
| When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the
BIOS
| checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
| electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
| battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
| program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able
to
| start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).
|
| After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
| variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
| default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of
a
| dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
| you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
| example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
| most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
| started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the
default
| settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to
change
| the settings.
|
| All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in
any
| way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
| Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
| starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.
|
| IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
| good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
| BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
| Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
| only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
| perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
| motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)
|
| The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on
the
| retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
| modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to
start
| up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
| DIED.
|
| But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
| if necessary, the original settings can be used.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| ||I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
|| || Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
|| resolution.
||
|| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely,
I
|| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
| my
|| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
|| battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
||| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program..
||| _____
|||
||| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
| change
||| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
||| replace the CMOS battery.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| ||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| _____
||||
|||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
|||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
|| help
|||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
|| those
|||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete
and
|||| precise answers has not been wasted.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||||| ||||| 'Rainy wrote:
|||||
|||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
|||| computer
|||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
|||| didn't
|||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
||| did..
||||| So
|||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
||||| _____
|||||
||||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
| solve
|||| the
||||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
|| problem.
|||||
||||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
|||| off.
||||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
| is
||||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
| computer
|||| is
||||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace
the
||||| battery.
|||||
||||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
|| reset
||||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
|||| Internet.
||||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer
will
||||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|||||
||||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
|||| COULD
||||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
|| no
||||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
||||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock
synch
||||| program would STILL be of no help.
|||||
||||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know
and
|||| who
||||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens
of
|||| CMOS
||||| batteries over the last 25 years.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| |||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard?
|||||| _____
||||||
|||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
||||| almost
|||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny
smooth
||| US
|||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out
of
|||| the
|||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
| the
|||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
|| pencil
||||| to
|||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
|||| battery
|||||| on the motherboard.
||||||
|||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
|| because
|||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
| let
||||| the
|||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
|| in
||||| the
|||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
||| settings.
||||||
|||||| Phil Weldon
||||||
|||||| ||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||||||| ||||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
|||| fixes
||||||| the problem.
|||||||
|||||||
||||||| --
||||||| Don
||||||| Vancouver, USA
||||||| ||||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
||| Rainy
|||||||
|||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 27, 2007

I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when the
computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order.. but
have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only last
for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last for
5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
'Rainy' wrote:
| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
_____

You need some background here.

The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during replacement.
ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.

When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the BIOS
checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able to
start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).

After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of a
dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the default
settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to change
the settings.

All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in any
way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.

IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)

The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on the
retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to start
up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
DIED.

But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
if necessary, the original settings can be used.

Phil Weldon

|I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| | Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
| resolution.
|
| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely, I
| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
my
| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
| battery.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
|||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program..
|| _____
||
|| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
change
|| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
|| replace the CMOS battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
| time
||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|| could
||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||| _____
|||
||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
| help
||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
| those
||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete and
||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||
||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||| computer
||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||| didn't
||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|| did..
|||| So
||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||| _____
||||
|||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
solve
||| the
|||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
| problem.
||||
|||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
||| off.
|||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
is
|||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
computer
||| is
|||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace the
|||| battery.
||||
|||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
| reset
|||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||| Internet.
|||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer will
|||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||
|||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||| COULD
|||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
| no
|||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
|||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock synch
|||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||
|||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know and
||| who
|||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens of
||| CMOS
|||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard?
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
|||| almost
||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny smooth
|| US
||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out of
||| the
||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
the
||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
| pencil
|||| to
||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||| battery
||||| on the motherboard.
|||||
||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
| because
||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
let
|||| the
||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
| in
|||| the
||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|| settings.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific to
|| my
|||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||| |||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||| fixes
|||||| the problem.
||||||
||||||
|||||| --
|||||| Don
|||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||| |||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|| Rainy
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 27, 2007

Ok go ahead and scold me..

I just forgot.. I was intending to. but I'm ..
oh well, no excuses... I should have.. thanks for all the help.. I
appreciated it very much! Rainy

'Rainy' wrote:
| I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
_____

Not to rub it in, but how many times in this thread was it suggested you
write down the BIOS settings? Computers really are very persnickety. It
ain't complicated, but then it ain't horseshoes either B^) - Ask me HOW I
know computers are persnickety B^)

If you write down ALL the changeable settings for your BIOS and post it
here, very likely you can get a reply that will explain whether any setting
need to be changed from default, and what the new settings should be (some
settings are trivial, the key repetition rate, for example - how many times
a second a key stroke is repeated when you hold it down.)

The time and date being set to six years earlier is pretty standard since
the original versions of many current BIOS cores were written about that
long ago.

Desktop computer CMOS battery life probably depends on what percentage of
the time your system is plugged in to an active AC receptacle AND the rear
panel power supply switch, if any, is turned ON; the CMOS battery is not
used in this circumstance.

Phil Weldon

|I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| _____
|
| You need some background here.
|
| The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during
replacement.
| ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
| will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.
|
| When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the
BIOS
| checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
| electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
| battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
| program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able
to
| start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).
|
| After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
| variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
| default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of
a
| dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
| you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
| example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
| most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
| started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the
default
| settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to
change
| the settings.
|
| All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in
any
| way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
| Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
| starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.
|
| IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
| good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
| BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
| Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
| only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
| perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
| motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)
|
| The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on
the
| retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
| modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to
start
| up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
| DIED.
|
| But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
| if necessary, the original settings can be used.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| ||I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
|| || Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
|| resolution.
||
|| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely,
I
|| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
| my
|| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
|| battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
||| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program..
||| _____
|||
||| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
| change
||| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
||| replace the CMOS battery.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| ||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| _____
||||
|||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
|||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
|| help
|||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
|| those
|||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete
and
|||| precise answers has not been wasted.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||||| ||||| 'Rainy wrote:
|||||
|||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
|||| computer
|||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
|||| didn't
|||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
||| did..
||||| So
|||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
||||| _____
|||||
||||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
| solve
|||| the
||||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
|| problem.
|||||
||||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
|||| off.
||||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
| is
||||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
| computer
|||| is
||||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace
the
||||| battery.
|||||
||||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
|| reset
||||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
|||| Internet.
||||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer
will
||||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|||||
||||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
|||| COULD
||||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
|| no
||||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
||||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock
synch
||||| program would STILL be of no help.
|||||
||||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know
and
|||| who
||||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens
of
|||| CMOS
||||| batteries over the last 25 years.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| |||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard?
|||||| _____
||||||
|||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
||||| almost
|||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny
smooth
||| US
|||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out
of
|||| the
|||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
| the
|||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
|| pencil
||||| to
|||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
|||| battery
|||||| on the motherboard.
||||||
|||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
|| because
|||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
| let
||||| the
|||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
|| in
||||| the
|||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
||| settings.
||||||
|||||| Phil Weldon
||||||
|||||| ||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||||||| ||||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
|||| fixes
||||||| the problem.
|||||||
|||||||
||||||| --
||||||| Don
||||||| Vancouver, USA
||||||| ||||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
||| Rainy
|||||||
|||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 27, 2007

Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a bunch
of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night, and
my
| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave an
| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
uninstalled
| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
connect | with windows time
| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..

'Rainy' wrote:
| I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
_____

Not to rub it in, but how many times in this thread was it suggested you
write down the BIOS settings? Computers really are very persnickety. It
ain't complicated, but then it ain't horseshoes either B^) - Ask me HOW I
know computers are persnickety B^)

If you write down ALL the changeable settings for your BIOS and post it
here, very likely you can get a reply that will explain whether any setting
need to be changed from default, and what the new settings should be (some
settings are trivial, the key repetition rate, for example - how many times
a second a key stroke is repeated when you hold it down.)

The time and date being set to six years earlier is pretty standard since
the original versions of many current BIOS cores were written about that
long ago.

Desktop computer CMOS battery life probably depends on what percentage of
the time your system is plugged in to an active AC receptacle AND the rear
panel power supply switch, if any, is turned ON; the CMOS battery is not
used in this circumstance.

Phil Weldon

|I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when the
| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
but
| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m hoping
| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
last
| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
for
| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
| _____
|
| You need some background here.
|
| The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during
replacement.
| ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
| will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.
|
| When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the
BIOS
| checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
| electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change the
| battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
| program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able
to
| start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).
|
| After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
| variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
| default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of
a
| dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery. If
| you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
| example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does, then
| most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
| started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the
default
| settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to
change
| the settings.
|
| All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in
any
| way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
| Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating system
| starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.
|
| IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
| good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
| BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
| Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures have
| only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
| perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
| motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)
|
| The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on
the
| retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
| modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to
start
| up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
| DIED.
|
| But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so that,
| if necessary, the original settings can be used.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| ||I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
|| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased.. but
|| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
|| || Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
|| resolution.
||
|| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely,
I
|| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
| my
|| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
|| battery.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| ||| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
||| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
||| ||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program..
||| _____
|||
||| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
| change
||| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after you
||| replace the CMOS battery.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| ||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
|| time
|||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
||| could
|||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||| _____
||||
|||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
|||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
|| help
|||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
|| those
|||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete
and
|||| precise answers has not been wasted.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| ||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||||| ||||| 'Rainy wrote:
|||||
|||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
|||| computer
|||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
|||| didn't
|||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
||| did..
||||| So
|||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
||||| _____
|||||
||||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
| solve
|||| the
||||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
|| problem.
|||||
||||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power is
|||| off.
||||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
| is
||||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
| computer
|||| is
||||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace
the
||||| battery.
|||||
||||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
|| reset
||||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
|||| Internet.
||||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer
will
||||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
|||||
||||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
|||| COULD
||||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that have
|| no
||||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start button,for
||||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock
synch
||||| program would STILL be of no help.
|||||
||||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know
and
|||| who
||||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens
of
|||| CMOS
||||| batteries over the last 25 years.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| |||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard?
|||||| _____
||||||
|||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
|||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery is
||||| almost
|||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny
smooth
||| US
|||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out
of
|||| the
|||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
| the
|||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
|| pencil
||||| to
|||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
|||| battery
|||||| on the motherboard.
||||||
|||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
|| because
|||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
| let
||||| the
|||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no difference
|| in
||||| the
|||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
||| settings.
||||||
|||||| Phil Weldon
||||||
|||||| ||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
to
||| my
||||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
||||||| ||||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
|||| fixes
||||||| the problem.
|||||||
|||||||
||||||| --
||||||| Don
||||||| Vancouver, USA
||||||| ||||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
||| Rainy
|||||||
|||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Phil Weldon · Jul 27, 2007

'Rainy' wrote:
| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night, and
| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
able to
| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
_____

Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error off
exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party Internet
time synch program active?

With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will be
as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
correctly set then stuff happens.

Right click on the date in your toolbar.
Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
property sheet.
This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.

Phil Weldon

| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
| my
|| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled
|| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
| connect | with windows time
|| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
|
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
| the
|| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
| but
|| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
|| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
|| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m
hoping
|| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
| last
|| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
| for
|| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
|| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
|| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
| _____
|
| Not to rub it in, but how many times in this thread was it suggested you
| write down the BIOS settings? Computers really are very persnickety. It
| ain't complicated, but then it ain't horseshoes either B^) - Ask me HOW
I
| know computers are persnickety B^)
|
| If you write down ALL the changeable settings for your BIOS and post it
| here, very likely you can get a reply that will explain whether any
setting
| need to be changed from default, and what the new settings should be (some
| settings are trivial, the key repetition rate, for example - how many
times
| a second a key stroke is repeated when you hold it down.)
|
| The time and date being set to six years earlier is pretty standard since
| the original versions of many current BIOS cores were written about that
| long ago.
|
| Desktop computer CMOS battery life probably depends on what percentage of
| the time your system is plugged in to an active AC receptacle AND the rear
| panel power supply switch, if any, is turned ON; the CMOS battery is not
| used in this circumstance.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
|
|
|
|
| ||I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
the
|| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
| but
|| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
|| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
|| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m
hoping
|| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
| last
|| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
| for
|| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
|| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
|| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
||| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
||| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased..
but
||| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
|| _____
||
|| You need some background here.
||
|| The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during
| replacement.
|| ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
|| will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.
||
|| When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the
| BIOS
|| checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
|| electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change
the
|| battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
|| program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able
| to
|| start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).
||
|| After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
|| variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
|| default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of
| a
|| dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery.
If
|| you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
|| example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does,
then
|| most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
|| started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the
| default
|| settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to
| change
|| the settings.
||
|| All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in
| any
|| way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
|| Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating
system
|| starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.
||
|| IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
|| good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
|| BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
|| Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures
have
|| only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
|| perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
|| motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)
||
|| The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on
| the
|| retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
|| modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to
| start
|| up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
|| DIED.
||
|| But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so
that,
|| if necessary, the original settings can be used.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
||| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased..
but
||| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
||| ||| Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
||| resolution.
|||
||| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely,
| I
||| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
|| my
||| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
||| battery.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|||| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
||| time
||||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|||| could
||||| use the clock sync program..
|||| _____
||||
|||| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
|| change
|||| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after
you
|||| replace the CMOS battery.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| |||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
||| time
||||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|||| could
||||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
||| help
||||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
||| those
||||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete
| and
||||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||||| |||||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||||
||||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||||| computer
||||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||||| didn't
||||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|||| did..
|||||| So
||||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||||| _____
||||||
|||||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
|| solve
||||| the
|||||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
||| problem.
||||||
|||||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power
is
||||| off.
|||||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
|| is
|||||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
|| computer
||||| is
|||||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace
| the
|||||| battery.
||||||
|||||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
||| reset
|||||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||||| Internet.
|||||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer
| will
|||||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||||
|||||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||||| COULD
|||||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that
have
||| no
|||||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start
button,for
|||||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock
| synch
|||||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||||
|||||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know
| and
||||| who
|||||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens
| of
||||| CMOS
|||||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||||
|||||| Phil Weldon
||||||
|||||| ||||||| ||||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
| to
|||| my
|||||||| motherboard?
||||||| _____
|||||||
||||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery
is
|||||| almost
||||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny
| smooth
|||| US
||||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out
| of
||||| the
||||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
|| the
||||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
||| pencil
|||||| to
||||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||||| battery
||||||| on the motherboard.
|||||||
||||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
||| because
||||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
|| let
|||||| the
||||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no
difference
||| in
|||||| the
||||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|||| settings.
|||||||
||||||| Phil Weldon
|||||||
||||||| |||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
| to
|||| my
|||||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||||| |||||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||||| fixes
|||||||| the problem.
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||| --
|||||||| Don
|||||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||||| |||||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|||| Rainy
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||
|||||||
|||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 27, 2007

Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize with an internet time server.
no the time was off almost 2 hours.. but will check in the morning to see for sure. You didn't respond
about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a setting under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using Sygate and have never had a problem with my time.
I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...would this have something to do with why my time
is off? I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my time to be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the response.. Rainy

'Rainy' wrote:
| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night, and
| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
able to
| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
_____

Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error off
exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party Internet
time synch program active?

With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will be
as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
correctly set then stuff happens.

Right click on the date in your toolbar.
Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
property sheet.
This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.

Phil Weldon

| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
| my
|| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled
|| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
| connect | with windows time
|| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
|
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
| the
|| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
| but
|| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
|| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
|| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m
hoping
|| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
| last
|| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
| for
|| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
|| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
|| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
| _____
|
| Not to rub it in, but how many times in this thread was it suggested you
| write down the BIOS settings? Computers really are very persnickety. It
| ain't complicated, but then it ain't horseshoes either B^) - Ask me HOW
I
| know computers are persnickety B^)
|
| If you write down ALL the changeable settings for your BIOS and post it
| here, very likely you can get a reply that will explain whether any
setting
| need to be changed from default, and what the new settings should be (some
| settings are trivial, the key repetition rate, for example - how many
times
| a second a key stroke is repeated when you hold it down.)
|
| The time and date being set to six years earlier is pretty standard since
| the original versions of many current BIOS cores were written about that
| long ago.
|
| Desktop computer CMOS battery life probably depends on what percentage of
| the time your system is plugged in to an active AC receptacle AND the rear
| panel power supply switch, if any, is turned ON; the CMOS battery is not
| used in this circumstance.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
|
|
|
|
| ||I replaced the batter, and forgot to write down the settings..

( when
the
|| computer booted, it landed me in bios.. where I changed the boot order..
| but
|| have no idea what other settings will need to be adjusted. When windows
|| loaded, the time was 6 years ago and the month was off.. we have adjusted
|| the time and date so I don't know yet if it fixed the problem! I"m
hoping
|| it dif! When I was at Radio Shack, the clerk said that batteries only
| last
|| for a year or 18 months.. and I mentioned that I was told it could last
| for
|| 5 years or more.. My friends computer at work has not had to replace the
|| cmos battery for almost 8 years! I hope this one lasts that long.. lol
|| Thanks for all the help.. Rainy
|| || 'Rainy' wrote:
||| I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
||| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased..
but
||| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
|| _____
||
|| You need some background here.
||
|| The BIOS will NOT be erased if the CMOS battery dies, or during
| replacement.
|| ONLY some variables like, for example, ENABLE or DISABLE the floppy drive
|| will be lost, and if lost, such a setting would default to ENABLE.
||
|| When you turn the computer on, a small program permanenty stored in the
| BIOS
|| checks and sets up hardware. This small program does not depend on
|| electrical power for storage. It will still be there after you change
the
|| battery. [BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System, the minimum
|| program necessary to bring the computer system to the point of being able
| to
|| start Windows (or whatever operating system is used).
||
|| After the initial hardware check, this small BIOS program uses certain
|| variables that have been set using the BIOS set up pages OR the safety
|| default settings if the variables have been corrupted or lost (because of
| a
|| dead CMOS battery, or in the process of installing a new CMOS battery.
If
|| you have never used the BIOS set up pages to change things like, for
|| example, what the big button on the computer system front panel does,
then
|| most likely the default settings have been used. If, when the system is
|| started, the BIOS program detects corruption, then it just loads the
| default
|| settings and displays a message asking if you want to continue or to
| change
|| the settings.
||
|| All of this happens BEFORE the Windows operating system is contacted in
| any
|| way. It is completely seperate. The default settings should allow the
|| Windows operating system to be started. Once the Windows operating
system
|| starts, the BIOS and the BIOS settings have no further affect.
||
|| IF you have changed any of the BIOS settings in your system, then it is a
|| good idea to look at the BIOS setting pages and write down the settings
|| BEFORE you change the battery. That way, you can restore the settings.
|| Most BIOS set up pages for most computers made by larger manufactures
have
|| only a handful of variables; possibly less than a dozen for a notebook,
|| perhaps as many as 60 for a motherboard designed for overclocking (a
|| motherboard based on the nVidia 680i chipset, for example.)
||
|| The bottom line - a dead CMOS battery has no effect on the BIOS, only on
| the
|| retention of the variables that can be set in the BIOS setup page. Any
|| modern BIOS has built-in safety defaults that will allow the system to
| start
|| up and invoke the Windows operating system EVEN IF THE CMOS BATTERY HAS
|| DIED.
||
|| But, prudence would suggest that you record the original settings so
that,
|| if necessary, the original settings can be used.
||
|| Phil Weldon
||
|| |||I looked at your earlier post and I don't understand what will happen to
||| Windows.. will windows boot? I understand that bios will be erased..
but
||| don't understand what all that implies! thanks, Rainy
||| ||| Thanks very much for the clarification. Glad to see you moving to a
||| resolution.
|||
||| To answer your earlier question 'what if the battery fails' (completely,
| I
||| assume you meant); the BIOS settings will be lost. This was covered in
|| my
||| earlier post of July 17 explaining what may happen when you change the
||| battery.
|||
||| Phil Weldon
|||
||| |||| yes I already installed a clock sync.. will replace the battery this
|||| weekend.. or whenever my friend can come and do it.. thanks, Rainy
|||| |||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
||| time
||||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|||| could
||||| use the clock sync program..
|||| _____
||||
|||| You already did which? Install the 'atomic clock sync' program, or
|| change
|||| the battery? I'd guess the former, so please post the results after
you
|||| replace the CMOS battery.
||||
|||| Phil Weldon
||||
|||| |||||I already did.. and it's still losing time..

as Sharon said, losing
||| time
||||| when I reboot is different than losing times while in windows.. then I
|||| could
||||| use the clock sync program.. Rainy
||||| ||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
||||| _____
|||||
||||| Please post the result after you have install the 'atomic clock sync'
||||| program and then after you have replaced the CMOS battery. That will
||| help
||||| other people with the same symptom, and go a long way toward helping
||| those
||||| who have replied to your question that their time in giving complete
| and
||||| precise answers has not been wasted.
|||||
||||| Phil Weldon
|||||
||||| |||||| thanks Phil.. Rainy
|||||| |||||| 'Rainy wrote:
||||||
||||||| Hi.. I was just asking my friend who installs the hard ware on my
||||| computer
||||||| and she said, she replaced the battery about a year or more ago.. I
||||| didn't
||||||| remember! She suggested I get an atomic clock sync program.. and I
|||| did..
|||||| So
||||||| if it's not the battery, any ideas? thanks so much..
|||||| _____
||||||
|||||| By all means install the 'atomic clock sync program'. It will not
|| solve
||||| the
|||||| problem, but it can't hurt. The change the battery to solve the
||| problem.
||||||
|||||| The battery is what keeps the internal clock running when the power
is
||||| off.
|||||| The symptom you report is that the clock loses time when the computer
|| is
|||||| off. The CMOS battery is what keeps the clock running when the
|| computer
||||| is
|||||| off, but that is not ALL the CMOS battery does. Therefore, replace
| the
|||||| battery.
||||||
|||||| An 'atomic clock synch program' just uses an Internet connection to
||| reset
|||||| the time periodically when the computer is ON and connected to the
||||| Internet.
|||||| This will have no effect with your reported problem Your computer
| will
|||||| still lose the time whever it is shut off.
||||||
|||||| Though it is possible that some strange alignment of Jupiter and Mars
||||| COULD
|||||| cause the symptom you report (tiny cracks in the motherboard that
have
||| no
|||||| other effect and that only open up when you press the start
button,for
|||||| example), this is very highly unlikely, and using an atomic clock
| synch
|||||| program would STILL be of no help.
||||||
|||||| Change the battery. You have gotten responses from people who know
| and
||||| who
|||||| have likely accumulated the necessary experience of replacing dozens
| of
||||| CMOS
|||||| batteries over the last 25 years.
||||||
|||||| Phil Weldon
||||||
|||||| ||||||| ||||||| 'Rainy' wrote:
|||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
| to
|||| my
|||||||| motherboard?
||||||| _____
|||||||
||||||| Remove the old battery. Take it with you to RadioShack and buy a
||||||| replacement. If you have a desktop computer, the required battery
is
|||||| almost
||||||| certainly a CR2032 Lithium 3 volt cell. It looks like a shiny
| smooth
|||| US
||||||| quarter and will cost about US $4. The battery should just pop out
| of
||||| the
||||||| holder which retains the battry flat on the motherboard. Make sure
|| the
||||||| power is off; open the case, pop out the battery, perhaps using a
||| pencil
|||||| to
||||||| lift the edge. There will be nothing else remotely similar to the
||||| battery
||||||| on the motherboard.
|||||||
||||||| It would probably be a good idea to write down the BIOS settings
||| because
||||||| they will be erased when the battery is removed. Or you could just
|| let
|||||| the
||||||| default settings be automatically used with very likely no
difference
||| in
|||||| the
||||||| behavior of the system if you have not specifically changed any
|||| settings.
|||||||
||||||| Phil Weldon
|||||||
||||||| |||||||| When I go to buy one, do I just buy any cmos battery.. or specific
| to
|||| my
|||||||| motherboard? thanks Raikny
|||||||| |||||||| I'd guess the battery is in its dieing stages. See if replacing it
||||| fixes
|||||||| the problem.
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||| --
|||||||| Don
|||||||| Vancouver, USA
|||||||| |||||||| Only when computer is turned off.. appreciate any advice.. Thanks
|||| Rainy
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||
|||||||
|||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||
||||
||||
|||
|||
|||
||
||
||
|
|
|

Phil Weldon · Jul 28, 2007

| Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize
| with an internet time server. no the time was off almost 2 hours..
| but will check in the morning to see for sure. You didn't respond
| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
| setting under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using
| Sygate and have never had a problem with my time.
|
| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...
| would this have something to do with why my time is off?
| I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my time to
| be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
response.. Rainy
_____

Your Windows time is not going to lose a few hours overnight because of a
firewall setting. If your computer has not been shutdown or hibernated then
the CMOS battery is not a factor. If the computer was turned off and the AC
power was removed, then the CMOS battery could be a factor. The battery
will not work at all if it is installed incorrectly (upside down.)

Your firewall NETBIOS setting shouldn't have any effect on your Internet
Time synchronization.

I can think of only two circumstances where a newly replaced CMOS battery
could be a problem;
#1. defective battery
#2. the CMOS clear jumper is set wrong (this would also set all the
BIOS options to default) and your particular motherboard has a design flaw
which allows the CMOS clear jumper to drain the CMOS battery.

I feel certain you can experiment and diagnose the problem. It certainly
isn't serious, and I can't think of any more suggestions.

Finally, you should set Outlook Express to post newsgroup messages in plain
text.

Phil Weldon

Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize with an
internet time server.
no the time was off almost 2 hours.. but will check in the morning to see
for sure. You didn't respond
about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a setting
under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using Sygate
and have never had a problem with my time.
I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...would
this have something to do with why my time
is off? I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my
time to be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
response.. Rainy

'Rainy' wrote:
| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night, and
| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
able to
| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
_____

Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error off
exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party Internet
time synch program active?

With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will be
as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
correctly set then stuff happens.

Right click on the date in your toolbar.
Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
property sheet.
This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.

Phil Weldon

| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
| my
|| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled
|| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
| connect | with windows time
|| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..

Rainy · Jul 28, 2007

I just took a nap and woke up and the time was off 2 hours again.. and the
firewall was not put back.. I will ask my friend if she mistakenly put the
battery in upside down.. and get back to you.. thanks for your help. .Rainy

| Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize
| with an internet time server. no the time was off almost 2 hours..
| but will check in the morning to see for sure. You didn't respond
| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
| setting under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using
| Sygate and have never had a problem with my time.
|
| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...
| would this have something to do with why my time is off?
| I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my time to
| be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
response.. Rainy
_____

Your Windows time is not going to lose a few hours overnight because of a
firewall setting. If your computer has not been shutdown or hibernated then
the CMOS battery is not a factor. If the computer was turned off and the AC
power was removed, then the CMOS battery could be a factor. The battery
will not work at all if it is installed incorrectly (upside down.)

Your firewall NETBIOS setting shouldn't have any effect on your Internet
Time synchronization.

I can think of only two circumstances where a newly replaced CMOS battery
could be a problem;
#1. defective battery
#2. the CMOS clear jumper is set wrong (this would also set all the
BIOS options to default) and your particular motherboard has a design flaw
which allows the CMOS clear jumper to drain the CMOS battery.

I feel certain you can experiment and diagnose the problem. It certainly
isn't serious, and I can't think of any more suggestions.

Finally, you should set Outlook Express to post newsgroup messages in plain
text.

Phil Weldon

Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize with an
internet time server.
no the time was off almost 2 hours.. but will check in the morning to see
for sure. You didn't respond
about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a setting
under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using Sygate
and have never had a problem with my time.
I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...would
this have something to do with why my time
is off? I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my
time to be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
response.. Rainy

'Rainy' wrote:
| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night, and
| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
able to
| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
_____

Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error off
exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party Internet
time synch program active?

With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will be
as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
correctly set then stuff happens.

Right click on the date in your toolbar.
Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
property sheet.
This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.

Phil Weldon

| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
bunch
| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
| my
|| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
| uninstalled
|| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
| connect | with windows time
|| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..

Phil Weldon · Jul 28, 2007

No, if the battery is in upside down, it will not work at all. I'd guess
the time zone setting is the culprit; after all, the Internet Time
synchronization source does not know your REAL time zone.

One more thought. Boot up and look at the BIOS page with the date and
time - if it is correct, then the CMOS battery is not the problem

Phil Weldon

|I just took a nap and woke up and the time was off 2 hours again.. and the
| firewall was not put back.. I will ask my friend if she mistakenly put the
| battery in upside down.. and get back to you.. thanks for your help.
..Rainy
|
|
| || Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize
|| with an internet time server. no the time was off almost 2 hours..
|| but will check in the morning to see for sure. You didn't respond
|| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
|| setting under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
|| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using
|| Sygate and have never had a problem with my time.
||
|| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...
|| would this have something to do with why my time is off?
|| I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my time to
|| be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
| response.. Rainy
| _____
|
| Your Windows time is not going to lose a few hours overnight because of a
| firewall setting. If your computer has not been shutdown or hibernated
then
| the CMOS battery is not a factor. If the computer was turned off and the
AC
| power was removed, then the CMOS battery could be a factor. The battery
| will not work at all if it is installed incorrectly (upside down.)
|
| Your firewall NETBIOS setting shouldn't have any effect on your Internet
| Time synchronization.
|
| I can think of only two circumstances where a newly replaced CMOS battery
| could be a problem;
| #1. defective battery
| #2. the CMOS clear jumper is set wrong (this would also set all the
| BIOS options to default) and your particular motherboard has a design flaw
| which allows the CMOS clear jumper to drain the CMOS battery.
|
| I feel certain you can experiment and diagnose the problem. It certainly
| isn't serious, and I can't think of any more suggestions.
|
| Finally, you should set Outlook Express to post newsgroup messages in
plain
| text.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| | Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize with an
| internet time server.
| no the time was off almost 2 hours.. but will check in the morning to see
| for sure. You didn't respond
| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
setting
| under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using Sygate
| and have never had a problem with my time.
| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...would
| this have something to do with why my time
| is off? I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my
| time to be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for
the
| response.. Rainy
|
|
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
| bunch
|| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
|| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
|| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
| an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
|| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
|| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
| able to
|| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
| _____
|
| Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error
off
| exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
| Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
| Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
| box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party
Internet
| time synch program active?
|
| With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will
be
| as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
| another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
| correctly set then stuff happens.
|
| Right click on the date in your toolbar.
| Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
| Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
| property sheet.
| This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
| bunch
|| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
|| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
| and
|| my
||| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
||| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
|| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
|| uninstalled
||| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
|| connect | with windows time
||| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
|
|
|

Rainy · Jul 28, 2007

I think you are right.. I don't know how the time zone flipped from central
to pacific.(I live in Iowa). but that is what was there. I changed it back
and will let you know.. Maybe I did this when I formatted.. Gosh I hope
not.. Rainy
No, if the battery is in upside down, it will not work at all. I'd guess
the time zone setting is the culprit; after all, the Internet Time
synchronization source does not know your REAL time zone.

One more thought. Boot up and look at the BIOS page with the date and
time - if it is correct, then the CMOS battery is not the problem

Phil Weldon

|I just took a nap and woke up and the time was off 2 hours again.. and the
| firewall was not put back.. I will ask my friend if she mistakenly put the
| battery in upside down.. and get back to you.. thanks for your help.
..Rainy
|
|
| || Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize
|| with an internet time server. no the time was off almost 2 hours..
|| but will check in the morning to see for sure. You didn't respond
|| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
|| setting under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
|| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using
|| Sygate and have never had a problem with my time.
||
|| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...
|| would this have something to do with why my time is off?
|| I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my time to
|| be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for the
| response.. Rainy
| _____
|
| Your Windows time is not going to lose a few hours overnight because of a
| firewall setting. If your computer has not been shutdown or hibernated
then
| the CMOS battery is not a factor. If the computer was turned off and the
AC
| power was removed, then the CMOS battery could be a factor. The battery
| will not work at all if it is installed incorrectly (upside down.)
|
| Your firewall NETBIOS setting shouldn't have any effect on your Internet
| Time synchronization.
|
| I can think of only two circumstances where a newly replaced CMOS battery
| could be a problem;
| #1. defective battery
| #2. the CMOS clear jumper is set wrong (this would also set all the
| BIOS options to default) and your particular motherboard has a design flaw
| which allows the CMOS clear jumper to drain the CMOS battery.
|
| I feel certain you can experiment and diagnose the problem. It certainly
| isn't serious, and I can't think of any more suggestions.
|
| Finally, you should set Outlook Express to post newsgroup messages in
plain
| text.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| | Yes I had the box checked that said automatically syncronize with an
| internet time server.
| no the time was off almost 2 hours.. but will check in the morning to see
| for sure. You didn't respond
| about my firewall!

I looked at options (Sygate) and there is a
setting
| under the security tab that says Protect Net Bios
| Could this be the problem? I have never changed this setting using Sygate
| and have never had a problem with my time.
| I I remove the firewall I am able to syncronize with windows time...would
| this have something to do with why my time
| is off? I read the article and it mentions the firewall but will need my
| time to be correct and to be able to use a firewall as well. thanks for
the
| response.. Rainy
|
|
| | 'Rainy' wrote:
|| Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
| bunch
|| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
|| Woke up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
and
|| my computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
| an
|| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
|| replaced the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
|| uninstalled it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was
| able to
|| connect with windows time I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
| _____
|
| Was the time error off exactly one hour or 30 minutes?Was the time error
off
| exactly one hour or 30 minutes?
| Check the time zone setting in Windows XP.
| Did you have the 'Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server'
| box checked in 'Date and Time Properties' and have the third party
Internet
| time synch program active?
|
| With a new CMOS battery your system time as kept on the motherboard will
be
| as accurate as a good digital watch. The changes the operating system are
| another thing; if the synchronization and time zone options are not
| correctly set then stuff happens.
|
| Right click on the date in your toolbar.
| Click on the 'Internet Time' TAB.
| Click on 'time synchronization' near the bottom of the 'Internet Time' TAB
| property sheet.
| This will take you to the 'Synchronizing your computer clock' article.
|
| Phil Weldon
|
| || Hi, found this one, sorry I don't have the original post.. but found a
| bunch
|| of Re's and I'm responding to this one..
|| Woke| up this morning and have lost 2 hours in the middle of the night,
| and
|| my
||| computer was still on..I tried to sync with windows time.. and it gave
an
||| error that it timed out.. appreciate any help with this... Before I
|| replaced | the battery I installed a clock sync program.. but have
|| uninstalled
||| it..thanks, Rainy . ps, I just took off my firewall and was able to
|| connect | with windows time
||| I wonder why my firewall is stopping this..
|
|
|

Losing Tine

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy

Rainy

Ken Blake, MVP

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy

Rainy

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy

Phil Weldon

Rainy