Windows clock

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cindy
  • Start date Start date
C

Cindy

I am not sure I am posting this to the correct newsgroup,
please let me know.

We have a computer in our office that will not maintain
the correct time in the Windows Clock. When you set the
time it will remain correct for a while and then it will
jump ahead about 15 - 20 minutes and hold that time.

Does this mean the internal time in the computer is
incorrect in the CMOS (i believe)?

Thank you in advance for your information.

Cindy
 
Hi, Cindy.

There's the geeky way to set the computer's internal clock in CMOS - and the
Windows way.

The geeky way is to press <Del> (or whatever key your own computer requires)
immediately after power-on or Reset and change the CMOS settings.

The Windows way is to right-click the clock (usually in the lower right-hand
corner of the screen) and adjust it there. This setting automatically
adjusts the setting in CMOS.

Does something else automatically change your clock's setting? Is this
computer on a network? It may be automatically synchronizing to the clock
in the server that controls the whole network. That doesn't sound likely,
though, if all the other clocks are correct.

My computer runs Automachron, one of several free-ware programs that
automatically goes online several times a day and synchronizes my clock with
a free "time server". WinXP (and Win2K, I think) has a built-in time
synchronizer, also reached by right-clicking the clock icon and choosing the
Internet Time tab. I suppose it is possible that some automatic
synchronizer on your computer is relying on an inaccurate clock somewhere.

If your time were off by exactly one or more hours, I'd suspect your time
zone setting, but that wouldn't seem to explain a 15-20 minute difference.
The headers on your post say that your setting is GMT -0700, which is
correct for Mountain Standard Time or Pacific Daylight Time in the USA.
(That's the proper setting for Redmond, Washington, which is Microsoft's
home, of course. Many users all over the world forget to change this when
they install Windows.)

I hope this helps. If you need further information, please tell us about
this computer's network status, and where (in the world) you are.

RC
 
RC

Thank you for your help. I checked the server clock, and
sure enough it matched the misbehaving computer. Why did
none of the other computers connected to the server have
this problem? I'm not positive, but it could be that the
rest of us are running XP and the one computer runs 2000
professional.

I will look up the Automachron program for her so she can
keep updated if something happens with the server clock.

Thanks again
Cindy
 
Hi, Cindy.

I've been running WinXP since RC1, so I've forgotten most of Win2K. But, I
think the Internet Time Check was new in WinXP. Perhaps all those other
computers are set to use that.

I'm one guy with one computer and know nothing of servers, but it seems to
me that THAT is what should be corrected!

RC
 
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