Losing Time

[chadzy]

The taskbar clock keeps losing time. MS Knowledge Base says to check whether the mobo battery is going dead by typing the command 'time' at a DOS prompt. The times are the same in DOS and in the taskbar, which according to MS means that the battery is not going bad. Anyone know what causes this? I'm running Win98/IE5.

[Nathan]

Try turning off the Power Management Feature in both CMOS and in 98.

Let us know.


http://www.helponthe.net/nathan/

[Eli]

My clock loses time on as well. I was told it was a known bug in W98. We might have to just live with it...

[Bleeding Edge]

Is this the referenced KB article you read.

Clock on Taskbar and in Date/Time Tool Loses Time

The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 95


SYMPTOMS
The clock on the taskbar and in the Date/Time tool in Control Panel may experience a loss of time.

CAUSE
This problem can occur for either of the following reasons:

You change the year in the Date/Time tool. When you click a different year in the Date/Time Properties dialog box, the clock stops. When you click Apply or OK, the clock starts again, but it does not compensate for the length of time it was stopped.
You change the month or date in the Date/Time tool. When you click a different month or date in the Date/Time Properties dialog box, the current time is decreased by 5 to 10 seconds. Over time, this can result in a significant time loss.

RESOLUTION
To work around this problem, use the Date/Time tool to set the correct time. For information about how to do so, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, and then type "clock" (without the quotation marks). In Windows 95, double-click the "Changing Your Computer's Time" topic. In Windows 98, double-click the "Clock Settings" topic, and then double-click the "To Change Your Computer's Time" topic.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98.



MORE INFORMATION
To determine if the time loss is a result of a weak computer battery, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.

2. At the command prompt, type "time" (without the quotation marks), and then

press ENTER.

3. Compare this time with the time reported by the clock on the taskbar.
4. Type "exit" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.

If the computer's time and time on the clock are different, your computer's battery may be too weak to keep accurate time, and it should be replaced. For information about how to replace your computer's battery, refer to the documentation included with your computer.

This problem does not affect the clock in your computer's CMOS.

[chadzy]

Yes, that's the KB article. No, I'm not going in and playing around with the year to see if my clock stops. **** I wish I had that much time on my hands! Will try out the Power Management and see how that affects it. This all just sort of happened (i.e. I'm not trying out strange and wonderful new things on the machine). The thing was going along fine for weeks (since the last clean install) and suddenly the clock just craps out on me.