[RESOLVED] Time and Date Keep Changing

[pipercub]

Window XP professional
service pack 3
pentium 4 2.66
2 gb memory

I had not turned on this computer for about three months due to problems. When I did go to Windows Update there were 30 of them. They all downloaded and ran. Everything was fine until I restarted the computer. The screen came up with a line that said CMOS Checksum error defaults loaded. Press F1 to continue. The start screen came up and I went to Windows Update. A screen came up that said date and time were out of sync with an update certificate. So I went into the control panel and corrected the date and time. It was way off like it said the year 2002. After I did this everything worked fine until the next day when I turned the computer on and I noticed the date and time were wrong again. Do I have a dead battery? If that is the problem what will happen if I take it out and replace it? If it is something else and you need more info let me know.

Thanks

[dneilson]

Yup, that's a bad CMOS battery (usually a CR2032 but check to make sure). Replace it, set the time and date and restore any special settings you had.

[pipercub]

Sorry I took so long to reply. It was the cell or as it is called the "battery". This is the first time three posts fixed the problem! Usually mind goes on for two or three pages!