System time Changes mysteriously?

[mbrown]

Here is a strange problem I have been having and hopefully somebody can help.
I was using Windows 98 and every couple of days the system time would lose an hour. I upgraded to Windows ME and the problem stopped for a little while. It cropped up again a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if it thinks that it needs to subtract an hour for day light savings time or something? It's kind of annoying. I have tried un-checking the auto-daylight savings time box but it didn't change anything.

I am using an IBM Aptiva but I've seen nothing on their site about this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

[thekingofpain]

Could be a sign your motherboards battery is dieing...

[mbrown]

The battery is just about a year old. It happened only a few months after I got the computer in February.

Windows ME tends to crash a bit, would the frequent control-alt-delete's do this?

Thanks,
Matt

[Thud]

No, frequent reboots shouldn't make any difference if your battery is working properly. I'd try putting in a new one.

[Roy]

I've had and cured the same problem by replacing the battery. Not all new batteries are perfect. Also check the contacts for cleanliness. Sometimes that's all it is.

[mrgizmo]

I have a Gateway Performance 500 which exhibits the same problem..... Never thought of the battery.... Thanks folks!

[ablang]

Anyone ever notice how the Windows clock slows down as the system resources drops?

It's true!

[Gutter Ball]

Yep Ablang, once in awhile if I'm doing something that's hard drive intensive(Photoshop) the clock will LOSE 5-10 minutes! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[RLT65]

Does the CMOS battery still run the clock when the system is running? I thought not.

Rhonda

[mbrown]

Thanks for all the replies. I check the battery.

Matt

[Beemer]

I worked on a machine recently that had a slow clock with a new battery. I found 5 or 6 System CMOS/real time clock devices in the Safe Mode, Device Manager. Several other duplicate devices as well all through the Safe Mode, Device Manager. I removed all duplicate devices and rebooted. Proper time within reason is now being kept by the computer.

It's worth the look-see. In most cases, I agree, it will be your battery.

Cheers!