The Problem
Q:I recently upgraded my PC with a new motherboard and Windows 98 and now, my system clock is not able to keep the time.
A: I had the same problem and that very same evening I finally solved my problem.
If you upgrade your motherboard and do not reinstall fresh Windows, the motherboard resources from the old one are inherited into the new system. Many of these components work because they might be backwards compatible; furthermore, components like APM (Advanced Power Management) do not work properly and cause mysterious effects. In my case, every time the computer went into sleep mode, when it woke up it kept the same time when it went to sleep. The key thing that the gentleman said is that the machine will have the right time after a reboot.
The way I solved the problem is by telling Windows to detect ACPI (Advanced Configurable Power Interface, which replaces APM).
Edit the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Detect
and add the following STRING VALUE: ACPIOption=1
Reboot the machine and this should do it.
I do not know if this would be a factor but I got rid first of APM from my devices.
Also, I would like to comment that people wanting to move data from one machine to the other, they could do two things:
1) Set up a network using a Null modem cable or even better a parallel connection
2) Install the old hard disk in the new system as slave and copy from one to the other
-- francisc@islandnet.com
Another Solution
For those who don't have an ACPI-enabled system or don't want to perform the above-mentioned operation, there is a simpler, albeit less elegant, solution: restart the computer. The display problem should rectify itself (i.e., the system time is updated to the actual time) after a restart. Wrote one user: "It has been 3 days and the clock has not lost a minute. Thank you so much for your help."
The Ultimate
Perhaps the ultimate solution for Windows 9x users is AtomTime, from http://www.atomtime.com/. This shareware program synchronizes your Win98 system clock with the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. Now that's accurate.
Windows XP and Mac OS X automatically get a time stamp from Microsoft and Apple, respectively. Other systems can also be configured to use NTP servers.
Dead Batteries
Another reason your clock might be losing time is related to the fact that every computer uses a battery to store certain settings. When this battery fails, as they all do eventually, your on-board clock will lose its time and your system will forget about its hard drive defaults. Cox News Service has an explanation of the problem and the solution: in short, replace the battery and re-enter the correct settings. A start-up disk is a handy item to have around to help a dead PC to find its hard drive and boot up. You can easily make a startup diskette with CD-ROM support using the "make startup desk" option in the add/remove software control panel of Windows 98 or Windows Me.
For Further Reading
ZDNet talks about the perils of the PC clock.
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