Why is my computer clock going fast?

[David Rogers]

There are two onboard ‘clocks’ so to speak. The real clock in the BIOS, and the Windows version that uses the bios one as a reference.

Really dodgy times occur when the bios battery (probably a button CR2302?) starts to die. But they are not that accurate by all accounts anyway.

You can get a web utility to sync your windows time to Greenwich when you boot into explorer.

If it’s gone totally wild..start with the battery.

Dave

[Martin Pearson]

When you say really fast what do you mean exactly? Is it just a bit out with GMT ? If you just need to reset the time you can try double clicking on the digital clock in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, on the menu that appears select internet time and then you can update from there. If the BIOS battery is on the way out you normally get all sorts of other problems and warning messages popping up. People often forget that there is a small coin type battery on the motherboard which ensures certain info is kept when the computer is shut down, these batteries normally start to fail anywhere after the 3 year mark depending on what type is fitted.

[Nick Minall]

If its XP then you can also tell it to synchronize with a time server in date and time properties

[Dave Bruce]

Thanks guys, it was actually about 3 hours out two days ago but not sure when it happened, I usually look at the clock at least once a day so assume it happened within 24 hrs. I reset it yesterday and it is 10min fast at the mo.

Cheers

Dave

[dcurzon]

if syncing clock on internet is NOT an option for you, then i would start by changing the CMOS battery out anyway. usually CR2032.

If you are using a PC then the battery is located on the main system board. Just remove the side of the pc, locate the battery, flip the old one outand pop the new one in. Obviously, power the PC off first, but you can leave it plugged into the wall socket (switch the supply off at the wall) as this will keep you earthed so no static problems.

On a laptop, the CMOS battery could be in several places depending on which lappy you have, a good first place to check though, is under the keyboard. again, different ways of removing the keyboard, for example, a compaq usally has quick release tabs along the top edge of the keyboard. an IBM has screws on the underside of the laptop, which can be identified with a teeny keyboard graphic moulded into the plastic next to the screw.