Computer time is fast

D

Draxis

n00b
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
19
Every time I get back to my PC after leaving it on for a while, maybe an hour or two, the time is 30 minutes fast. I have WinXP SP2 and I use the internet time tab in the clock to update the time every time i notice it's off. Yet whenever I leave the computer alone for a while, the time is back to 30 minutes fast. Sometimes it's fast right when I turn the computer on after it's been off all night.

I've built and maintained computers for years and have never run across a FAST clock before. Many times I've seen a slow clock be the result of a bad CMOS battery, but this is a first for me.

I've re- flashed the BIOS, I'm not overclocking, and I'm only running one OS. Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
hah thats funny. i'd like to here the answere to this one :)
 
I would still blame it on a weak CMOS battery

Other than that, check for spyware/viruses

If you don't have the "windows time" service started and don't sync to the internet, does the clock still speed up?

Something I just thought of, what are your PSU voltages? I wonder if a rail providing too much power could cause you clock to run fast. <just thinking out loud
 
Thanks for the ideas blackrino9. I have an Antec PurePower 420watt PSU, so I don't think I'd have a power rail running too high, but I've never checked either. I'll look into that. I'll probably try to replace the battery too.

Regarding the "syncing", that's I usually do to fix the time. When I notice it's off, I synch it and the time goes back to what it should be. So I don't think synching would be causing and fixing my problem. But who knows... anything is possible with Microsoft. :)
 
I know this is a dumb question, but do you have the Time Zone set correctly? I notice this happens to me to, but 1-2mins tops. I dont use the updater and set clock manually.
 
a lot of the time clock fluctuations is due to a dying bios battery, you may reboot one day and it just won't come up, the batteries tend to last awhile though
 
On my ibm t41 my clock would magically set it self exactly two hours back every other day or so. It took me a month to realize that i had the time zone set to pacific instead of central. :p
 
If you disable the time updates and you let it go, does it gain more then 30 minutes on its own?

I heard of a guy on one of my mailing lists having a similar issue on a laptop.. I don't recall the fix or if there was one..
 
my time zone is correct, and I already do have automattic updates turned off. i run the update manually whenever i notice the time is off.

i would think it's BIOS battery, but i've only ever seen that make a clock go slower, not faster. i'm going to replace it anyways, just in case. but i doubt it will fix the problem.
 
Draxis said:
my time zone is correct, and I already do have automattic updates turned off. i run the update manually whenever i notice the time is off.

i would think it's BIOS battery, but i've only ever seen that make a clock go slower, not faster. i'm going to replace it anyways, just in case. but i doubt it will fix the problem.
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i have seen it go faster and slower, our registers at work are 10 years old so we have been having this problem a lot,
 
problem: spyware, this shit happened to me and took me forever to get it right. turned out there was a software program running in the background on my computer which had a time service and was always changing my time on me every now and then just like in your case. try running ad-aware or something of the sort to check on any other programs that may be effecting your computer. turn of the time update with windows as well just to be on the safe side.
 
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