### Author:  [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/1 "2000-10-20T15:49:43Z")
It’s slow. I’ll set the clock to the right time, look at it 2 hours later and it’ll be 5 or 6 minutes too early.
Is there a way to fix this? Have I discovered some form of time travel? Someone help, it’s nearly driving me insane…
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### Author:  [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/2 "2000-10-20T15:50:56Z")
\ why can I never manage to post to the forum I mean to? _sigh_
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### Author:  [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/3 "2000-10-20T16:05:52Z")
Is your computer connected to a network/LAN?
One of the computers I use at work is, and the clock always resets itself to the time of the server (which is 15 minutes ahead of time). I have to reset the clock every time I log on to the system.
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### Author:  [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/4 "2000-10-20T16:12:11Z")
Could be your CMOS battery.
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### Author:  [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/5 "2000-10-20T16:17:29Z")
I have to reset my clock almost every day om my PC at home - Windows98. **AndYrAStar** , do you shut off your PC at night, or do you suspend (or let your drive power off)? I never shut my PC off, and if I set the clock in the morning, it’s fine all day. My drives and monitor power down after 45 minutes at night, and every morning my clock is about 10 minutes slow. I have not been able to find a fix for this, and if there was one I doubt it would work. (See my faith in Microsoft?)
I downloaded the patch for when your PC hangs while shutting down at the “Windows is now shutting down” message. It still hangs once in a while when I reboot. $%#@\*^ Windows.
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### Author:  [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/6 "2000-10-20T16:41:12Z")
[http://www.beaglesoft.com/CCClockWatchSettings.htm](http://www.beaglesoft.com/CCClockWatchSettings.htm)
Windows internal clock may be imprecise. (doesn’t know how many ticks there are per second?)
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### Author:  [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/7 "2000-10-20T16:51:53Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I have not been able to find a fix for this, and if there was one I doubt it would work. (See my faith in Microsoft?)
Windows gets it’s time from the computer clock. I know it’s popular to beat up MS but in this case it sounds like your computer that is messed up. You can set it all you want but if the computer (RTC) is not correct neither will Windows be correct.
If you go into the BIOS you can check the time set from there. Chances are that is your problem.
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### Author:  [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/8 "2000-10-20T16:59:02Z")
Of course my world is not clear a few minutes after waking up…
Regardless of my errors, do check the BIOS to see what is listed there, yes, chances are that is your problem.
\< note to self, wake fully before posting \>
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### Author:  [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/9 "2000-10-20T17:03:21Z")
ROFL, damnit, I hope you all realize I meant BIOS, not CMOS!
D’oh! I had just explained to someone that CMOS has nothing to with the sea or moss, so I guess it was stuck in my head.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/10 "2000-10-20T22:40:40Z")
Is everybody giving a different answer? Then this _is_ the right forum! 🙂
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2000, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/11 "2000-10-20T22:44:09Z")
There are many right answers.
Is the Windoz clock the same time as the DOS clock? Drop to DOS & type TIME, Check that & report back.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/12 "2000-10-21T00:57:28Z")
It’s the battery. Replace it. If it doesn’t work, then you have a stuffed clock.
I had this problem for years. The clock would only work if the computer was on, and even then it was slow. After a week, only two days would have passed.
I have a new motherboard now. At last.
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### Author:  [@Natural-J-Bankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Natural-J-Bankie)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/13 "2000-10-21T01:20:26Z")
Yeah, as far as I know it’s the clock on the motherboard (the CMOS clock). More specifically, it’s the battery for the motherboard. This clock is the one that both DOS and Windows use to tell the time. I had this problem with an old motherboard, but haven’t had it for years. You might need to replace the battery, or possibly the motherboard.
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### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/14 "2000-10-21T01:56:20Z")
Other thing to check is if any wierd things have been downloaded lately. There are a few programs out now that will check the net and synchronize to standard time.
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### Author:  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/15 "2000-10-21T02:55:38Z")
There’s a program out there called Dimension 4, that checks your clock vs. the atomic clock on a preset schedule. I use it to keep my clock on track. There’s tons of settings, and it runs unobtrusively. You can have it check when you boot up, then set your clock and exit (what I do). Or you can have it check automatically on a regular schedule (from 5 minutes to 72 hours or more). It’s really great. One nice feature, is that if you’re on dialup, it’ll wait till you’re online, then do it’s job…it won’t bug you about not having a connection.
here’s the link:
[Dimension 4](http://www.accessone.com/~thinkman/dimension4/)
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/16 "2000-10-21T05:03:54Z")
A clock needs regular servicing to clean and lubricate the bearings. Take it to a specialized repair shop.
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### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/17 "2000-10-21T05:46:47Z")
Dire Wolf wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> My drives and monitor power down after 45 minutes at night, and every morning my clock is about 10 minutes slow. I have not been able to find a fix for this, and if there was one I doubt it would work. (See my faith in Microsoft?)
Much as I hate to admit it, this is probably one bug where Microsoft is not to blame. The problem is probably in your CMOS battery, your ROM BIOS, or your power-saver modes, none of which are part of the Operating System.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/18 "2000-10-21T22:39:52Z")
“It’s the battery. Replace it.”
That is one answer but not the only answer.
If you take your HD & drop it onto a new board, the clock often goes slow because W95 needs timer files.
However, the way to know if that is the case is if the DOS time & Windows time are the same. Course, no one got back to me on this soo…
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### Author:  [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/19 "2000-10-21T23:04:09Z")
Nice try guys, but the reasion windows does not keep time is because windows is not an atomic clock. Leaving the system perpetually on WILL cause windows to loose time. Windows only check its time with the system time once on boot. If you leave the system on all the time w/o rebooting it, you will loose time.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2000, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computers-clock-is-on-crack/37666/20 "2000-10-22T07:14:06Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by kinoons \*
> \*\*Nice try guys, but the reasion windows does not keep time is because windows is not an atomic clock. Leaving the system perpetually on WILL cause windows to loose time. Windows only check its time with the system time once on boot. If you leave the system on all the time w/o rebooting it, you will loose time. \*\*
You need to read the OP again.
“It’s slow. I’ll set the clock to the right time, look at it 2 hours later and it’ll be 5 or 6 minutes too early.”
Windows timing errors are typically on the orders of a few seconds a day one up to a minute or so a day for a system with a real sloppy clock. This person is losing 2.5 to 3 minutes _per hour_. Defective battery is the most probable cause. BIOS and memory issues can cause this as well but only rarely.
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