Is there any way to fix my computer's clock?

Question

My computer clock has been stuck on the same day for a long time. I never found a way to fix it. The time moves forward, however when I turn off my computer or even when it goes to screensaver or something, it will go backwards. It's been 12:41AM Wednesday, March 19 all day long. Please Help!

(and even if I set it to the right date, it will stay on that day and not move forward correctly. other than that, my computer works fine)

Answer 1

1.  Because it is loosing time, my first guess is that the CMOS battery is having issues.

-- When you boot up, the screen will show "Press X to enter setup".  It usually will be something like F2, ESC, etc.  Press that key and enter the BIOS.  Is the time correct here?  If not, try changing and rebooting.

Now watch it.

--If it now works, there may have been something wrong with the settings.

-- If it still sticks or starts loosing time again.  

   a.  If the system is in warranty contact the manufacturer.

   b.  If not you will need to change out this battery.

2.  If the time is already correct in the BIOS, but in Windows it still loses time and will not change dates, you may need to remove the clock (in the device manager--click on the + next to system and remove the System CMOS real time clock) and reboot and see if it fixes.  

If it didn't fix the problem you may need to re-install windows.

Answer 2

I've not run into that before.  It sounds like a movie I once saw - groundhog day?  lol..   There is obviously something seriously wrong here.  It is difficult to say since you didn't tell us what operating system this is, or anything about the computer.

You say when you turn it off or when after it comes back from screen saver it does this.  That leads me to believe the problem is in the Bios.  The fix would be to try to flash that bios with the latest firmware.  If that doesn't work, try changing the battery on the motherboard.  If that doesn't do it, it sounds as if you'll need to replace the motherboard.

A workaround for this would be to try to use a program called dimension 4 - it is designed to keep your clock synced with the US atomic clock via the internet.  It works exceptionally well - but I don't know if it will correct the date as well.  It might and would be worth a try since its a free program.  http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/

Otherwise - it looks like it's time for a new computer.

Answer 3

Install a new battery on the motherboard, it is round the size of a quarter.