Laptop clock - incorrect time?

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LancelotSA

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Hi,

The last few nights, partly due to laziness, I have taken to unplugging my laptop and letting it eventually go into standby/hibernation (saying both as I am not sure which one it goes into) by itself rather than shutting down.

The problem is I am now noticing that when I switch back on the time on the laptop is wrong. It seems to stick at the time it went into standy/hibernation!

What is causing this?
 
Hi Lancelot

the clock time on your laptop is powered by a small internal battery (pretty much a watch battery) and once that dies, everytime you power down your machine, it will reset the clock as it has no battery.

Relatively easy to replace if you can access it.
 
HPFM said:
Hi Lancelot

the clock time on your laptop is powered by a small internal battery (pretty much a watch battery) and once that dies, everytime you power down your machine, it will reset the clock as it has no battery.

Relatively easy to replace if you can access it.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks man. I will do an online search for my model.
 
If you're running default settings, the notebook should first go into standby and then into hibernation.

If your battery is low enough, then it's possible that it's losing time because the internal battery is dead.

Also, how much battery life do you usually get?

It's impossible to tell without more information.

Try do a proper shut down (while plugged in) and then turn back on (like 5 or 10 minutes later). Is the time still correct?

Now try shut down and remove the battery for 5 or 10 minutes, then put it back in and start it up. Is the time correct now? If not, the internal battery needs to be replaced (easy enough job).

Also try and force hibernation (while plugged in) for like 10 minutes then start it back and see if the time is correct. It's possible that something (malware, perhaps?) is causing it to not adjust the system time to the real-time-clock.
 
/Lets out an evil laugh at djngoma :p

Are you by any chance running windows 98? Check your time and date settings to make sure daylight saving is turned off and the correct time zone is selected. If all fails, it's most likely the CMOS battery.
 
Nope it is Windows XP.

Not daylight saving because, as mentioned, it seems to be restarting with the time that it would have been when the computer went into standby.

The actual laptop battery is almost dead as I get very little time before the laptop shuts down when working on battery power.

After a bit of googling I am thinking it may well be the CMOS battery.
 
i was under the impression new(ish) laptops have rechargable bios battery? or a bigish capacitor to replace power?
 
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