In message said:
PC disconnected 11/24 at 10pm for move on 11/25. Powered up 11/25 at 7pm,
but shows 11/24 10pm. Is this something that should not be, or did I just
not wait long enough before manually fixing it? It is a Dell Dimension L_r
that was originally shipped with ME but was upgraded to XP.
Assuming 11/24 and 11/25 really mean 25/11 and 24/11 (-:, then no, it
shouldn't be; suggests the internal clock stopped. Not sure what you
mean by "wait long enough before manually fixing it".
It's unusual for the clock just to stop - it usually reverts to Jan 1
1980 or something like that, depending on the clock chip.
The usual reason is it's not getting power from the internal cell. This
could be because it is failing - a PC originally shipped with Me will be
a fair few years old now, and I've heard a figure of five years for the
cells (though IME they usually last far longer than that), or because it
has jarred loose in the move. Have a look (and if you have a voltmeter,
measure it - it should be at least 3 volts - I think they start around
3.2, and the circuitry will work down to surprisingly low, approaching
1.5 or 1.7): it's almost certain to be a CR2032, a round flat cell.
If it is failing (cell running down or loose), the PC may start to lose
other important settings, so don't leave it long; at worst, it can
corrupt the settings for the HD (number of sectors and cylinders), which
_could_ cause the PC to corrupt the HD in a way which would be difficult
to recover from, though in most cases it'll just autofind the settings
correctly each boot.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
**
http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **
Are you sure your circuits are functioning correctly? Your ears are green!