Windows losing time (BIOS time correct)

The software clock in Vista is losing time. When I go into the BIOS it is correct, but once booted into Vista the software clock is behind by a few seconds (and will gradually keep losing a few seconds over a week or so). So I think it is a software problem.

I first noticed this when overclocking my CPU with Clockgen last year: after gaming for a while with an overclock to 2Ghz it would sometimes be a minute or more behind. So I stopped overclocking in fear that it was damaging something (eventhough it was perfectly stable otherwise). Without overclocking it still happens but not by as much. So perhaps Clockgen was interfering with the software clock.

I also have been overclocking my GPU from 500/400 to 600/500 for the last 9 months or so without any problems, but I stopped that as well to see if it helped, but it is the same (but not made worse like Clockgen).

Temperatures were always good with overclocking; I use a cooling pad so that makes up for the few degrees added by overclocking and I monitored them myself. I also undervolt the CPU, but is still loses time eventhough undervolted and overclocked it runs cooler than 1.8ghz at stock voltage.

Any ideas how to fix this?

Thanks.

 

Could overclocking be drawing extra power from the motherboard timekeeping battery?

 

CMOS battery could be on its way out......I know you checked the Bios, but for a few bucks i would change it anyhows

 

I doubt it. It happens even when undervolting so the CPU uses less power and with no overclocking.

Sorry, but this is what people always seem to suggest and it definately isn't the problem. My laptop is not even a year old and, as I said, the BIOS keeps time fine; I switch on the laptop, check the time in the BIOS and it is fine, then once Windows loads the time is behind a second or two. There is a clock on the motherboard and the software clock that loads with Windows. Once loaded, Windows uses the software clock to keep the time and I think this is the problem.

 

Dgital clocks dont lose track of time lol. Its an ON/OFF process not a slowdown.

Check your windows time settings, you might be synchronizing into a different timezone. Try stop and disabling the 'Windows Time' service

 

Digial Clocks can lose track of time, they're not all 100% perfectly accurate. My alarm clock tends to be a little slow (though probably only 2 minutes a year).

Anyway, as I said, there is a software clock that counts the time in Windows and that apparently isn't very accurate and can be affected by other programs. It only synchronises with the BIOS time at start-up and then runs the time itself.

The internet synconisation is disabled and my time-zone is correct. It won't synchronize with the time server anyway. I have configured Windows Vista's firewall to have outbound protection, but I'm not sure how to allow the internet time service, so it blocks it. Do you know how to allow it in Windows Firewall?

 

Atomic clocks dont, only by maybe 0.00001%

Just disable the Time service,

Run > Type services.msc > look for Windows Time > Stop service > Disable service > Apply.

Also check for spyware and viruses, just to cover bases.

 

I used MSConfig to disable the service. Then restarted. At start-up I watched the time and saw it pause for a few seconds and when it started again it had lost a second (it was correct initially and before restart). The Windows Software Clock is getting affected by some other program/service. It doesn't always lose time at start-up, so I don't think it will be one of my programs that always load...I don't really know where to start or what could be causing it...But it is definately software...

 

it is not unusual for WINDOWS time to be different from the RTC on the motherboard...

my question is this...
do you continue to loose time after the initial 1 or 2 second loss (say you leave the laptop running for 3 days... how far off are the two clocks??)

there are programs that allow access to read the RTC clock inside of windows

 

I've never left my laptop on for a huge amount of time like that, but I think it depends on what I am doing. It will often lose a few seconds at start-up, but the only other time I've noticed it lose time when on is after playing games for a while (espcially when overclocking the CPU). I'm trying to keep a closer eye on it to get a better idea of when it loses time, but they're the most common.

When gaming, I'm sure it's not a heat problem. The max temp at 2Ghz overclock (with cooler and undervolt) is 60/61 degrees and I don't overclock anymore so it runs even cooler than that at the moment. Similarly for the GPU, OC max 51, no OC max 47/48, not overclocking at the moment.

But when it loses time, it is rare that it gains it back. I noticed once when resuming from standby it got the time back that it lost on start-up (check BIOS before starting and was correct). But if I shut down the BIOS time seems to lose time as well, does Windows alter the BIOS clock on shut down?