I want to be able to check the BIOS system clock on my Windows computer to verify that it is accurate. I am using Windows XP Professional. How do I access the BIOS in order to view the clock settings?
Thanks,
Rebecca
When windows starts, it gets the time from the BIOS clock. Depending on how things are configured, once XP gets up and running it may get the time from the domain controller or an atomic clock on the network. Is your system starting up with an incorrect time?
When your computer boots, look for a message on the screen that tells you how to get into the BIOS settings (usually you have to press F3 or something while the message for such is being displayed). Some computers display a splash screen, and you may have to press tab or something to get to the system messages, so it may be a two step process to get into the BIOS. Once you are in the BIOS setup, look around for the clock settings. Some systems may not allow you to view and modify the clock settings from the BIOS setup screens.
I actually have to write a report for a class I took a while back. One element of the process I have to include in my report is that I have to verify that my system clock is accurate, and (as I recall) to do that I have to check the BIOS screen.
Thanks for the help!
Rebecca
The Operating system accesses the hardware clock and changing the information in the XP operating system chenges it on the hardware level, so the BIOs will read the same. You only need to check the BIOs if that’s what your assignment specificaly said. There will not be a difference between the Bios and XP clock on the task bar.
The only time this is not true is in a very old computer that was out before the motherboards got one intergrated into them. The change over would have finished about 1995. Anything beyond a 486 chip should not have this problem.
You can normaly access the Bios by pressing the delete key during the BIOs boot. Some mother boards will require a different key to be pressed, but it’s rare. I hope you have all you need now.