Commatoze

When I start or reboot my PC, it's internal clock begins to lose time immediately. The more processes I have open, the quicker it will happen. We're talking minutes to several hours behind in a matter of a couple of days. Additionally, the tasks take longer and longer to perform until it reaches a point where it just stops working. The mouse won't respond, etc. A reboot will correct the problem, but it starts all over again. I've got Windows ME, with a firewall, and no spy-ware that I know of. Any ideas??

Tom

MnTom

I don't really know, but, you don't think it could be the battery would it? Is it possible for you to visit Microsoft's website and see if you can come up with something? I will try to find out what I can too.
Tom
p.s. I just e-mailed my computer "guru" for ideas but won't hear from him 'till at least monday.

Shovelhead

Are you running any kind of anti-virus software?
Sounds like you caught a "Bug".

Dave65

When your computer loses time it is most likely the battery on your motherboard.

Replace it and you should be ok

redramnc

Is the computer not a laptop? If so, the lithium coin cell that is the volatile memory keep-alive can cause this symptom. I have a lab mini-tower that is losing time, but slowly - one day I will have to swap out the coin cell but for now it is merely an annoyance.

Look in the documentation for the computer - there should be a mention of the keep-alive battery somewhere. Supposedly they are good for 5-7 years, at which time the hardware is obsolete anyway. However, batteries do have early life failures.

Commatoze

Thanx for the replies. It's not a laptop but a 3 year old P3 mini-tower. I'm running the latest update of my anti-virus software. My PC runs nearly 24/7; I rarely shut it off. I thought the battery was only for keeping the clock running when the PC was shutdown? Does the clock run on the battery alone then? Wonder why my PC eventually zombies out. I re-booted several hours ago, and I already 5 minutes behind. I'll swap out the battery on the motherboard and see what happens.

jrs_dodge_diesel

Usually when that batter goes dead it dumps the CMOS settings as well as the time. I would bet that that beatter is your problem. A lot of computers use a battery like that so they are readily available.

AlpineRAM

Commatoze- I'd check for the CPU fan and heatsink. Windows uses its own timing when the PC is running and sets the CMOS clock accordingly. When tha CPU starts overheating it will turn down the core frequency to avoid getting fried. Especially ME won't like this.
You can also use a timeclient program and set it to check and adjust time periodically as a workaround- there are also some radio controlled computer clock modules on the market. (For those without a permanent internet connection)

HTH

AlpineRAM

MikeyB

I agree with AlpineRam. Sounds like the system is throttling back due to thermal issue with the processor. Do a search on the web for thermal monitor programs (check Toms hardware page) and also a Winclk program. Usually the trip point for throttle on a Intel processor is 90-95c and shutdown at 100c. The Winclk program will show the CPU being throttled back to very low frequency, normally the CPU at idle will be about 500MHz because of Speedstep.
Another quick test is to boot the system into the F10 BIOS setup. The CPU will be running at it's max frequency and will lockup very quickly if it's a thermal issue with the heatsink.
The battery is only there for CMOS keep alive while the system is off. The system will function normally without the battery but the system config will run and the clock will have reset, makes the boot time slower.

Good luck!

MikeyB

MnTom

Commatoze I heard from that friend of mine- he said check these sites:

http://www.beaglesoft.com/mainfaqclock.htm

http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/time-dil.htm

http://www.pctechguide.com

Hope this helps
Tom

wannadiesel

Mine has the opposite problem - it gains time at about 2 minutes a week.

jfpointer

I agree that the battery needs to be replaced. You should probably reboot a machine running Windows ME at least once a day anyway. The 16-bit versions of Windows (yeah, I know, they say it's 32-bit, but it really isn't) aren't really stable enough to run for days at a time; the memory management isn't good enough.

HOHN

Here's how I solve all my PC problems:

1) open up a window (not Windows)
2) Throw computer out of said window
3) buy a Mac

My wife was a Mac user (I was PC) before we got married. I didn't take long for the Mac to win me over. She has the bottom-of-the-line IMAC that they made 4 years ago. It runs like a champ and just plain works.

Our next computer will be a wonderful (but overpriced) Mac.


Justin

jfpointer

You said it: overpriced, which is unfortunate. Otherwise, I'd have one at least to mess around with even though I make my living in the PC world. I think the flat-screen iMacs are pretty cool.

TomW

Definitely sounds like a heat issue. Commatoze, you haven't overclocked the machine have you? Have you noticed a change in pitch with the cooling fans? When was the last time you blew the dust bunnies out of the case?