Why does my clock suddenly lose time?
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Thread: Why does my clock suddenly lose time?

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    NSW, Australia
    Posts
    109

    Why does my clock suddenly lose time?

    Just recently, my clock in the System Tray has started to lose time. Every couple of days or so I notice that it's lost many hours. It's not a major problem but it's a bit irritating when my emails start to show that I replied before I got them (maybe I have second sight or something!)

    I downloaded a little atomic clock program so it could synchronize the clock over the internet, but Windows Defender kicked up such a fuss about it, even before I installed it, that I decided that discretion is the better part of valour and ditched it in case it's a nasty.

    Is there an easy answer within Windows, or a safe program that will synchronize the clock with an atomic one on the internet, or do I have to get some sort of battery replaced?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    6,447
    If it's jumping hours at a time, it sounds like you have the wrong timezone selected -- double-click on the clock and check.

    Windows XP actually includes time synchronisation (the Internet Time tab); you don't need third-party software.
    Safe computing is a habit, not a toolkit.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 1999
    Location
    Largo, Fl.
    Posts
    22,318
    Might need to replace the three dollar battery....

    Did you recently start unplugging the pc from it's electrical source at night?
    If you're happy and you know it......it's your meds.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Friern Barnet, London, England
    Posts
    46,565
    This is a workaround rather than a true fix, but you can change the Windows Time update interval by hacking the Registry thus:

    In HK_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient -
    Change value of SpecialPollInterval to number of seconds required between updates.
    Create new Dword value for SpecialPollInterval if necessary.
    Nick.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 1998
    Location
    Prescott (gold motherload country), Arizona, USA
    Posts
    1,212
    Double click on clock.
    on the internet time tab, change the default time server to one from this list.
    (the windows default time servers may not work).

    http://tf.nist.gov/service/time-servers.html
    I read your e-mail

    To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    NSW, Australia
    Posts
    109
    Thanks for the fast responses. To answer your questions:
    1) I've checked the time zone and it's correct for me.
    2) Maybe the answer is a battery. I do switch off the power at night.
    3) I tried connecting to tf.nist.gov before asking on these forums, and in response to GodMonstr's suggestion, but each I try it times out.
    4) Re the Registry edit... I'm really not happy to fiddle with it (I'm a prime example of Murphy's Law.... "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong"!)
    Mike

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