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  1. #1
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    Default PC is losing time

    I have noticed that my PC losing time, probably 1 or 2 minutes a day. Could a low/flat CMOS battery be the cause even though I leave it switched on 24/7, except for when I go on holidays.

    I'm running Windows 7

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  3. #2
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    Default

    Unlikely. The CMOS battery supplies the power to store such settings when the 'puta isn't powered.

    If you know how - and feel comfortable with - clearing the CMOS, I'd suggest you try that. Sometimes oddball mobo issues crop up with long runtime periods and this should flush those.

    I just had a quick look online and see that the M$ "gurus" recommend changing your CMOS battery for similar situations. I'll stand by what I said above... a new CMOS battery shouldn't make any difference. But the fact that removing and replacing the battery is, effectively, flushing the CMOS...

    IF, when you fully power the system down and on again (ie. a hard restart) it has problems booting, detects HW incorrectly or loses date/time then I'd actually replace the battery. But until then...
    I may be weird, but I'm saving up to become eccentric.

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  4. #3
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    Default

    Thanks Andy, is it a difficult/dangerous task to flush the CMOS? Any reliable sites giving instructions?
    To grow old is inevitable.... To grow up is optional

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  5. #4
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    Default

    It's usually a simple matter, yes, although laptops and portables can be a whole other story.

    Many mobos use a small jumper placed onto a couple pins to flush the CMOS, while some have a simple button located somewhere. Either way, it's usually labelled fairly clearly on the PC board. If you can consider any of the tiny fonts typically silkscreened onto a PCB as ever being "clear."

    Power down the computer, unplug the power cord and either put the jumper in place or hold the reset button for a few seconds. Just a coupla secs is typically enough, 30 is overkill but makes sure it's clean.

    It should be covered somewhere in the User manual, if you have one. You may need to be specific with google if you don't. eg. "How do I reset CMOS on AMD X399 EATX"

    If you've never done this on that 'puta before, I'd suggest going into the BIOS screen and taking note of the settings. For an "off-the-shelf" system they're probably all default settings, meaning they won't change when the CMOS is reset, but all it takes is for one setting to not be default to ruin your day.

    Screenshots with a mobile phone make this easy and allow you to compare after resetting/rebooting.
    I may be weird, but I'm saving up to become eccentric.

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  6. #5
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    "mobos"????????
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  7. #6
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    Sorry: mobo = motherboard.

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  8. #7
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    Default

    Thanks Andy. I'll prolly do the remove/reinstal battery thing first and see if that makes a difference. I'll leave it for a week and see just how much time I am losing before doing anything though..
    To grow old is inevitable.... To grow up is optional

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  9. #8
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    Default

    Low voltage of the battery is the most common cause of Real Time Clock (RTC) errors. Given the likely age of the machine (you said its running Win7) this is probably the issues. However there are other factors that can cause the clock to lose time.

    A simple fix is to change the interval that the operating system uses to update from the Internet. For Win 7 "stand alone" machines (i.e. - those that are not part of a company Windows Domain network) the interval is 604,800 seconds, or every 7 days.
    You can change this sync much more often (e.g. every 1,800 seconds would be OK - every 1/2 hour. Do NOT be tempted to change it to a very frequent setting such as every 15 seconds, or you can cause other problems!)

    You can't do this via the normal windows control panel settings, it needs to be done by editing a registry entry.

    The key to change the auto sync time interval settings is located at:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

    key name you should change is SpecialPollInterval
    The key type is DWORD
    default value is
    604800(decimal) 0x00093a80 (hexadecimal)
    change the value to 1800 to auto time sync every 1/2 hour

    Do this as follows

    1. Run Regedit as administrator (type "regedit" in the Start Menu, Right-click on the regedit search result to access the context menu, Select Run as administrator in the Context menu)

    2. Navitate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

    3. Open the the DWORD key named
    SpecialPollInterval (Double click to open it, or right click & select Modify...)

    4. Change its value to 1800

    5. Click OK to save the change



  10. #9
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    Done. Thank you for this easy fix.
    To grow old is inevitable.... To grow up is optional

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  11. #10
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Grumpy John View Post
    Done. Thank you for this easy fix.
    NP -

    I would still replace the battery - if the time loss issue is relatively recent, battery it is likely cause. If its not attended to, low battery voltage can lead to other erratic PC behavior !!

  12. #11
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    Default

    You can remove the the battery and check it with a voltmeter, the battery should read 3v, Anything under 2.8v is problematic.

    Chas.

  13. #12
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    Default !!!!!!!help!!!!!!

    I thought that I would go ahead and replace the battery as the PC is over 10 years old and still has the original battery.
    Now I am getting Disk Boot Failure Insert System Disk. I have inserted the original Win 7 disk and it is running me through a new install of windows, will I lose all my settings if I continue? Should I try and restore from a previous save?
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  14. #13
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    Default

    I would suspect that all you have done is lose the disk settings from the BIOS. I would NOT proceed with installing anything but would review your BIOS and ensure that you have the correct disk selected as your boot disk

  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by poundy View Post
    I would suspect that all you have done is lose the disk settings from the BIOS. I would NOT proceed with installing anything but would review your BIOS and ensure that you have the correct disk selected as your boot disk
    I have reset date & time,that's about as far as I have gone.

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  16. #15
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    Problem solved, the lead to C: drive had been dislodged during battery replacement.
    It was a waste of time replacing the battery as the old battery measured 3.239V and the new battery measured 3.228V.
    To grow old is inevitable.... To grow up is optional

    Confidence, the feeling you have before you fully understand the situation.

    What could possibly go wrong.

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