my parent's computer has a really annoying problem: the date keeps changing around
it is annoying because they have windows xp on there and it doesn't boot properly unless the date is set properly
it tends to happen once every few days, and the only way around it i find is to get into bios and change it there, but it is getting annoying

has anyone encountered this...i suspect that xp is screwing it up but i'm not 100% sure...

It could be a problem with the backup battery on the mainboard - this happens sometimes even if the mainboard is fairly new.
Replace the power cell (refer to the manual of the mainboard) and see if the problem occurs again.

If the date keeps flucking up, there´s probably a mechanical problem with the mainboard (like a micro fracture). In this case, you have to replace it unless you are very, very good in microelectronics.

Have to agree with Wave on this one. That definitely sounds like a problem with the battery backup for the BIOS. I would try to replace the battery.

Originally posted by Shakey
Have to agree with Wave on this one. That definitely sounds like a problem with the battery backup for the BIOS. I would try to replace the battery.

Hum de hum de hum.... :D

The battery backs up the CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), that is where the disk drives, date, and tons of other information is stored. The BIOS only does so much, such as the POST and interrupt calls, it doesn't store other information. The BIOS and CMOS work together, but they are separate components. Also, the battery doesn't back up the BIOS (since the software inside is permanately etched), it backs up the CMOS data. :)

But the diagnosis is probably right.

1) The battery could be bad. Replace it. If that fails, it is possible the battery socket is bad. Most motherboards have an onboard jumper so you can plug in a AA battery to power it. Any good computer store will carry something like this. It's a small holder that uses 1 battery and has wires to plug to the motherboard.

2) Software can make the date erratic. Free Agent (newsgroup reader) is really bad about this. If you download an entire channel, it could change your time by hours. Kazaa has done this to me as well. This isn't a definite, but it does happen.

3) There is a slight possibility that the BIOS has a bug that is causing the date/time not to work properly. If you can find out the type of motherboard, go to the manufacturers web site and see if they have any flash upgrades for it. The reason I didn't say the BIOS manufacturer is because the motherboard makers buy the source code and modify it to their individual needs.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.
:)

You are correct and I stand corrected. Although I am not sure how to take your little comment at the beginning. That almost seemd like a jab, but I'll wait and see.

What comment? The hum de hum de hum? Just chuckling, that's all. Nope....not meant as a jab. :)

Just being sarcastic. No offense intended.

BTW Shakey... I see by your profile you work with VAX/VMS, unless I just didn't read it right. Looks like you have a leg up over me in the unix department. I'm pretty good with Red Hat and so so with Solaris, but I can't do mainframes.

Very impressive! :)

Maybe we can learn something from each other here!

That's cool, Aaron. My fault. Guess I've just been around to many tech forums where people look for reasons to begin flaming. Guess it makes you a little paranoid.

VMS isn't exactly like Unix though. It was created somewhere around 1976 and went into production, I think, in about '77 or '78. It is a mainframe system though. Mainly used in production environments (mission critical systems) due to its stability. We have systems running in our group that have literally been up for years. You'll never see Windows being able to say that!

I have worked with Unix a little though and like to try out various flavors of Linux on my desktop at home.

The longest I've seen a Windows NT system stay online without a reboot was maybe a couple months. I don't recall ever seen an NT machine go over 4 months.

Just about 3 days ago I rebooted a customers Red Hat machine that had been online exactly 100 days. He didn't technically need a reboot, but was getting some child process errors, so I rebooted and they went away.

That's the beauty of unix. When I was running Red Hat at home, I let mine go days without a reboot. I am thinking about switching back over to it.

Windows simply will never have the power, reliability, or performance that Unix has. But I have met several people who swear by Windows and believe it is the best thing out there. If they only knew...

thanks guys, it is quite new mb (3 months old)...i'll try replacing the battery first and see how that goes

i wouldn't have thought it could be software like free agent or kazaa, there's hardly any software on it at all (and not internet connection)....faulty bios...maybe...but it does sound like battery

Hi - I had the same problem but my PC was new so I did not think that it was a CMOS problem. My date was always being reset to a few months ahead - about October 2004 and I could not find anything on the internet. Eventually I went through all of the software i had put on my machine and found it was not spyware (as some suggested) but it was Diet-K (great AD remover for Kazaa). On there forums it says that the date is changed to stop Kazaa realising that the Ads have been removed. By changing the ini file for Diet-K the problem is removed (see Diet-K forums)

Hope this helps - let me know!

marrio!