# win7 clock keeps changing



## machv (May 23, 2009)

my windows time in the bottom right corner changes everytime i login. i keep changing it back and have tried everything i can which is err changing it back and applying the change. i don't know what to do it's messing with my calendars and virus software. the virus scan doesnt matter too much because i can stop it. actually when the virus starts up is when i normally notice as it is starting at the wrong time. the calendars etc... however are a different matter it is messing up my appointments etc. can someone help?


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

CMOS battery? 

Which brand, model & model # computer? The one in your bio? 6 yrs is reasonable for a CMOS battery. 

RF123


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6000/en/sm/index.htm

aka coin cell battery

RF123


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

rainforest123 said:


> CMOS battery?
> 
> Which brand, model & model # computer? The one in your bio? 6 yrs is reasonable for a CMOS battery.
> 
> RF123


I have a Canadian Toshiba L350D (01M). (there is a difference apparently from the US and Canadian models)

I don't think it's the CMOS battery as the time isn't resetting to 12:00pm Jan 1st. It is just going about 6 hours or so difference with the right date, and it does not do it all the time.

I am not sure how to find out the date of my laptops manufacture. I can't find it on the bottom or by checking device manager. And the earliest review I could find on the net for my model was in 2008. So I would assume it isn't pre-2007. Which at the most means it is 3-4 years old so the CMOS battery should be fine. I am going to check the CMOS though and see what the clock on that says and then get back to you. Thanks for your help


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

I replaced a cmos battery, last week, on a computer which I built, spring 2007. 

Contact Toshiba for the manufacture date. 

Remove the HDD. Look at the manufac date, for a clue. Inexact, but close. 

login, or turn on ? 

If log in, boot to safe mode, check time. Log off, but done't go to sleep, or hibernate. Log in 4 hrs later. 

RF123


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

> I don't think it's the CMOS battery as the time isn't resetting to 12:00pm Jan 1st. It is just going about 6 hours or so difference with the right date, and it does not do it all the time.


Run diags on anything you can; HDD, ram [ W7 & Vista DVD have Microsoft's mem diags; or MemTest86.com > free downloads, run it for 8+ hrs ], OCCT to stress CPU / GPU http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?News ; motherboard diags from Toshiba.

Turn of lappy. Remove Li+ ion battery. [ not cmos battery ]
Connect to wall outlet.

Intermittent problems are almost always hardware.

Keep us posted. 

RF123


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

OK, I shut down checked the bios time it was fine. then i removed the battery and held down the power button for 10secs to completely drain out all the juice and the plugged it back in without the battery and bios time a OK and then shut down again reattached the battery and did all that again and everything is fine. it seems that it's like when you goto the docs and then you are ok type of thing. it seems ok now but i would like to find out what was causing this. so what should i do next?


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

m :
I am confused. 

What is *not* normal about the status of your lappy?

If the battery is out, put it back.

If you disabled something in the bios, re-enable it.

If you are in safe mode, boot to selective startup
Services tab, disable all non Microsoft services
Startup tab, disable all items. 
Reboot. 
Test, if no problem with the time, proceed.

Enable 1/2 of the non Microsoft services [ Keep all Microsoft services enabled ].
Use the lappy. 
Enable 1/2 of the remaining non Microsoft services
restart 
test
Repeat until all services are enabled.

Instead of randomly re-enabling services, I prefer to select a group of services from the same program, *and* enable startup items from the startup tab associated with the same program.

Continue until you have re-produced the problem. Then, referring to your carefully prepared notes, re-enable some of the things you most recently enabled.

Keep us posted.

RF123


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

ok well the problem cropped up again and it happened after i restarted win7 after i had liux running on the usb hdd i have and it only seems to happen when i switch back and forth. i wasnt making that connection because i was doing it so frequently lately then slacked off. as i am trying to find the stablest and most secure of the two for running the games i want and keeping my site free fro the hackers that might want to exploit me. my site is httP://thewrittenword.ca by the way, dont let anyone els know this but i am a welfare bum trying to make a real go of it as i have problems with physical contact with people but find i can online and its the only thing i can think of to make something of myself. alas due to the research i have had to do it leads me to hacking exploits etc and have had to reinstall my OS quite frequently. so i amparanoid and scared about the hackers maybe some of its truew and some just fantasy but thast isnt making a diference, maybe i shouldnta drank toight i tend to ramble when i drink. anywho thanks for the help


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

As you are in BC, I'll bet it's 7 hours fast when it's off. You must have Linux set to update the CMOS, or RTC clock. Linux usually expects the RTC to be set to UTC, and it converts the time to Local. Windows expect the RTC to be set to the Local time.

In Linux, check */etc/sysconfig/clock* and see what UTC is set to. If Dual booting with Windows, it should be set to 0 or false.

More reading:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Time/Clock+changes+when+rebooting+from+WinXp/Linux+Dual-boot


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

it's not a dual boot system. i have ubuntu on an external usb hdd and run it from there. does that matter? i guess it is dual boot sort of but they are technical.y two seperate entities although i do sometimes transfer a movie from linux to win vias mounting the hdd. could that be the cause. i can't see the usb hdd when i have win7 running it only shows up as a physical drive type of thing through filescavenger (iwas trying to recover some lost stuff and noticed it showed up there) but it doesn't have a drive letter assigned to it so is not visible through explorer if that makes some kind of difrerence at all


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

TheOutcaste said:


> As you are in BC, I'll bet it's 7 hours fast when it's off. You must have Linux set to update the CMOS, or RTC clock. Linux usually expects the RTC to be set to UTC, and it converts the time to Local. Windows expect the RTC to be set to the Local time.
> 
> In Linux, check */etc/sysconfig/clock* and see what UTC is set to. If Dual booting with Windows, it should be set to 0 or false.
> 
> ...


ya know what i think it is about 7 or so hours fast it is fast as i remember having to change the date back a day too sometimes. i'll get back to you on that. oh by the way why would it have the correct time in the bios and linux but only windows is affected? just a weird glitch?


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

If you boot more than one OS on a PC, it is a dual boot, at least as far as this issue is concerned, even if one of them resides on an external drive.
Both Linux and Windows read the RealTimeClock (RTC) when they are booted.
Pacific Time is GMT-7 at this time of year, so at 1 PM Pacific DAylight Time, it is 8 PM GMT.
Windows assumes the RTC is set to the local time. It does not make any adjustments for the Time Zone you've entered, it simply displays the RTC time and the Time Zone.
Linux assumes the RTC is set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) (Equivalent to GMT for this discussion). It reads the clock, then applies the Time zZne offset, and displays this adjusted time.
So, if the RTC is set to 1300 (1 PM), Windows reads it, converts to 12 hour format if needed, and displays 1 PM, and the Time Zone.
Linux reads the RTC, checks what Time Zone you've entered, adds the offset (-7 in this case), converts to 12 hour format if needed, and will display 6AM and the Time Zone.
The problem arises if Linux is set to check the time online and update the RTC. Online time sources provide the GMT time.
If Linux thinks the RTC is set to UTC, it does a direct compare, sees the RTC is off by 7 hours and corrects it, changing it to 2000 (8 PM).
Windows on the other hand, converts the Internet time to local before comparing.
Windows, when not connected to a Domain, checks the time online once a week.
Linux may be set to check the time much more frequently, and may check as soon as an internet connection is detected after boot, so may adjust the clock before the display is even initialized, so you may never see that the time is off when you boot into Linux, it's being synced online too fast.

It could also be that Linux is seeing the RTC as local time, but whatever service is checking the time online is not, so once an online check is done, the RTC is set wrong. Linux never looks at the RTC except at boot, so won't show that it has been changed.

So you have to tell Linux that the RTC is set to Local time, not UTC, so it will behave like Windows does.


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

Weird or WHAT?

*Very interesting, Jer. *

RF123


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

yeah i thought so too, i left reading it till this morning when my adhd isn't as bad. and that was not a i do have adhd


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