20 replies to this topic

[bluedragon]

Hi,

For some reason my Windows XP is displaying wrong time every time I boot into it. Ubuntu is working perfectly fine on the same machine. I thought my motherboard battery might be dying but BIOS time is correct. Can someone guide me as to what could be wrong? I have Windows XP x64 and Ubuntu.

Could it be due to a Virus/ Trojan ?

[truefusion]

bluedragon, on Nov 2 2009, 12:30 PM, said:

Could it be due to a Virus/ Trojan?

That's not it. A friend of mine had the same problem after installing a popular Linux distribution. The reason why your BIOS time matches the one you see in Ubuntu is because Ubuntu updates your hardware clock when it installs itself (and probably when there's an update for the package that manages the time). Whether or not you have recently updated your Ubuntu system could be the cause of your problem. I'm not entirely sure how my friend fixed the display on his Windows setup, but i would suspect having XP synchronize your time with the internet time would fix it—though i've never really had this problem.

[shadowx]

double click on the time/clock and then set the time manually...

Simples

[bluedragon]

@shadowx - I know how to update time manually

@truefusion - Is it due to Linux ? I mean I have Ubuntu 9.10 now. And its still showing incorrect time. Its not always but at random after I restart. Though the time in BIOS is not affected. Can you pls ask your friend how he fixed it. I am not using GRUB to load Ubuntu and Windows. I installed windows first on one of my Drives and then disconnected it to install Ubuntu on the other drive. Can this be the reason ?


Thanks for the replies

[buxgoddess]

I think there might be the problem of synchronization in Xp. Also I have posted here to subscribe to the thread for any future replies that may come on its way. I think I had a problem similar to this and was using dual boot of Windows XP and Mandrake 10. But I reinstalled both OS immediately.
The CMOS battery needs to be checked for its functionality. Is there a software that detects the life or charge in the CMOS battery?

[Soviet Rathe]

buxgoddess, on Nov 3 2009, 11:36 AM, said:

I think there might be the problem of synchronization in Xp. Also I have posted here to subscribe to the thread for any future replies that may come on its way. I think I had a problem similar to this and was using dual boot of Windows XP and Mandrake 10. But I reinstalled both OS immediately.
The CMOS battery needs to be checked for its functionality. Is there a software that detects the life or charge in the CMOS battery?

No, there is no program that can detect the strength of the CMOS battery
On a fairly new computer (no more then 5 years old) if your CMOS battery is getting low then your computer will warn you of this at boot. but sometimes it doesn't
the CMOS battery is responsible for memorizing information like disk sizes, computer ports, installed devices etc..
this information is needed for the computer to boot properly or completely and work well.

the CMOS batters powers the CMOS which contains the information needed to boot up the computer and run programs. and works with the RAM

if the CMOS battery dies or becomes very weak it can cause bigger problems which will cost money to fix

the only way to detect if your battery is weak is the following:
1) the computer keeps going off by itself (The CMOS is required to keep the computer on!)
2) Programs load slowly (remember! the CMOS works with the ram! without it your ram doesn't work right!)
3) you get an alert telling you to clean up disc space where there is alot of disc space (The CMOS contains data about disc space and size!)

How to replace the CMOS battery
just open up the cover on your computer and look at the mother board (the mother board is the very large circuit board) look for a small flat battery that looks like one of the larger hearing aid batteries. then just take something small like a hair pin and pop that battery out (don't worry you wont hurt anything) also be careful that you don't touch the motherboard itself especially with your skin because your bodies natural static can mess it up.

then look at the set of numbers and letters on the battery and go to walmart and buy a new one then just pop the new one in.

Cheers hope I helped!

[shadowx]

If you know how to change the time manually just make sure your timezone is set and try disabling the auto sync option, then set it manually and see if it goes again, it shouldnt.

If the BIOS battery was dying on you then the time would reset to something like 01 Jan 2005 (depending when your motherboard/BIOS was made) It wouldnt reset to a random time, you might also loose config settings like Soviet Rathe said, so change a setting or two in BIOS (or make a note of the settings as they are now, and if you notice the clock is changed check the BIOS again and see if you have lost settings, if you have then the BIOS is at fault. But i've never heard of BIOS batteries dying to be honest, within the lifetime of an average computer it doesnt usually happen, ive been working on a machine with a Windows 98 sticker and a 900Mhz CPU so thats probably at least 9-10 years old but the BIOS is still going.

[bluedragon]

My CMOS battery isn't dying for sure.

I am using an ASUS motherboard and theres a lot of configuration stored within the BIOS. If my battery fails even once. It'll ask me to reconfigure it for sure. and Since it hasn't asked me to reconfigure , I figure my battery is alright.

Now I noticed one more thing. When I boot into Ubuntu after restarting from Windows. Ubuntu displays incorrect time. And If I am not connected to internet. It keeps displaying incorrect time.

Looks like both the OS have time issues.

I'll probably stick a hand watch on my monitor that'll save me some time

[rougue]

now guys what bluedragon is saying i have an experience of, i am still trying to figure out what it is, but i think it is a virus... I wouldnt say my machine dual boots, but i do have two separate OS on two SATA harddrives. My clock problem is on this wise... when i boot the computer (XP Pro) it is either behind time with about an hour or ahead with about an hour, two or three, i am always setting the clock right, even if i leave it on the whole day it just has to lose the time on its own, i dont know how... i have about 4 virtual machines on my XP, (Suse Server & desktop versions 10, Ubuntu Server 8 & desktop 6.04, as well as XP Pro), when the problem first started i thought the virtual machines were the culprits, but i noticed over time they are not (well,.. i think so)

so i really think we should start considering the possibility of a nuisance virus... am still looking into it, so please lets do help each other on this one, if someone already has a solution please do advice...

i am using Bitdefender Total Security 2009...

[iGuest]

I too have the same issue where ever I installed both ubuntu and windows dual boot for myself and my customers also. What is figured out is that it is clearly not a virus issue. The time difference from the correct time every time I switch from Ubuntu to Windows or vice versa is exactly my timezone lag( Mine is INDIA GMT+5.30). When I boot into ubuntu at 1'o clock and immediately boot to windows it shows 6.30. This is clearly an issue with how both the OS are dealing with BIOS time.

Still, I do not yet have a working solution or even a workaround for this, other than manually changing time everytime.

-reply by Siva

[bluedragon]

Update :

My clock is still displaying odd times

Ubuntu automatically updates its clock from internet so I don't notice it but it also displays incorrect time if my internet is turned off

Windows XP doesn't do this so it keeps displaying wrong time


Its 23:14 right now and its displaying me 17:44


I think this has something to do with the way Ubuntu and Windows synchronize time.

I think Ubuntu uses UTC time as its standard and windows uses GMT.

I hope someone can come up with a solution

[rvalkass]

bluedragon, on Jan 2 2010, 05:45 PM, said:

I think Ubuntu uses UTC time as its standard and windows uses GMT.

GMT and UTC are both exactly the same (GMT+00:00). If UTC and BST were used then at most a one hour difference would be observed, but the minutes would remain accurate. The fact that there is a 5:30 difference would suggest a correct time zone of India/Sri Lanka.

According to most reports this is due to, once again, Microsoft getting something wrong. The hardware clock (the one on your motherboard) is supposed to be written in the UTC time zone, and read as that. The operating system then applies any changes to get it into your time zone. However, Windows gets this wrong and always writes the time in your local time zone.

To fix the issue you need to make Ubuntu also write the time incorrectly, as Microsoft don't have any way to fix their mistake in their OS. If you open /etc/default/rcS in a text editor, you should find a line like this:

# Set UTC=yes if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT), and UTC=no if not.
UTC=yes

Change it to say:

# Set UTC=yes if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT), and UTC=no if not.
UTC=no

[k_nitin_r]

Hi!

@bluedragon

The problem you are experiencing is neither due to a virus nor due to a problem with Microsoft Windows XP or Ubuntu Linux. The problem is because Linux provides you with an option to treat your computer's clock (powered by your CMOS battery) as either the Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) / Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) or your current local timezone. The benefit of this approach is that when you take your computer to a different location, you can simply change the timezone to have your computer display the current time in that location, much like the Apple iPhone does.

Microsoft Windows XP, however, does not have this feature and always attempts to set your computer's clock to the current time in your geographical region. It scan ynchronize the computer's clock with a time server located on the Internet periodically.

If you have a dual boot system, you can select the option to have Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, or any other distribution that you use ought to provide you with an option to do this) treat the computer clock as the time in the current location's time zone.

You might be able to fix the problem using the method suggested by rvalkass, but I have always been using the graphical interface for making the setting. Linux also prompts for the setting during installation so I have never had to change it for any of my recent installations of Linux.

@iGuest (Siva)

When you reboot into Microsoft Windows after having Linux set the time on your computer, you might want to give it some time to synchronize the clock with an Internet time server. Alternatively, you can use a script to automatically synchronize the clock when the computer boots up.

If you can, change the time setting on Linux to the current timezone rather than Universal Coordinated Time / Greenwich Meridian Time, as that's the right way to solve the problem permanently.

[bluedragon]

Thanks Everyone

@rvalkass
Thank you .. I'll try the method u suggested


an update -- The time screw up also screws my Pocket PC ... I synced my Pocket PC with my computer when it was displaying the wrong time and guess what .. It changed the time on my PPC also .. and the funny part was , when I checked the time in the middle of the night and it was still showing me evening

[onkarnath2001]

bluedragon, on Nov 2 2009, 11:00 PM, said:

Hi,

For some reason my Windows XP is displaying wrong time every time I boot into it. Ubuntu is working perfectly fine on the same machine. I thought my motherboard battery might be dying but BIOS time is correct. Can someone guide me as to what could be wrong? I have Windows XP x64 and Ubuntu.

Could it be due to a Virus/ Trojan ?

there might be a problem with your bios,s cmos battery but i want to say you that check at first the time after two consecutive power shut down by just shutting down xp two times.because last week i had installed dual boot with xp n ubuntu,,i got every time i shut down xp n start ubuntu.i have a dell laptop n using xp sp2 32 bit.perhaps due to different architecture ,the result is coming like this.
if the time gets changed automatically,,also uncheck auto synchronization of time in time box by clicking in taskbar.
if the problem persist,,try to change the cmos battery.

[bluedragon]

onkarnath2001, on Jan 6 2010, 06:52 AM, said:

there might be a problem with your bios,s cmos battery but i want to say you that check at first the time after two consecutive power shut down by just shutting down xp two times.because last week i had installed dual boot with xp n ubuntu,,i got every time i shut down xp n start ubuntu.i have a dell laptop n using xp sp2 32 bit.perhaps due to different architecture ,the result is coming like this.
if the time gets changed automatically,,also uncheck auto synchronization of time in time box by clicking in taskbar.
if the problem persist,,try to change the cmos battery.

@ onkarnath2001 - DONT YOU READ BEFORE POSTING .. MY CMOS' BATTERY IS FINE .. I AM NOT GOING TO CHANGE IT .. PLEASE DON'T POST JUST FOR THE SAKE OF POSTING WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON .. and IF YOU NEED the SOLUTION > SEE rvalkass' comment

[iGuest]

Ubuntu & Windows switching timeHelp ! Windows Displaying Incorrect Time ..

hey

had same issue . Ubuntu + Windows XP dual boot.

If I started Ubuntu , then next boot of Windows had wrong time (1 or 2 hours difference accordingly to timezone and legal/sun time period.

If  is tarted Windows any number of time, no change. Then next boot of Ubuntu, time is correct in there, but following Windows boot wrong again.

 

Now, fixed first time with a script in Windows which forced internet NTP synch at boot. 

 

Now have same problem, after installing Windows 7 , since looks like previous scripting not working (permission issues).

 

At the end of the day, I suppose  it's Ubuntu which stores different timing at boot then what Windows expect to find.

 

It really annoyes me too, but too lazy or busy so far to give it a shot :-))

We'll see. I might expect there's some setting in Ubuntu to be changed .. And eventually workaround again with scripting in Windows.

 

Bye

 

-reply by Offcourse

[iGuest]

Make change in UbuntuHelp ! Windows Displaying Incorrect Time ..

As mentioned by others the problem is in the different ways that Linux and Windows look at the system clock.

You can try a registry setting in Windows: HKLM > System Current Control Set > Control > TimeZoneInformation

If there is not a DWORD for RootTimeUniversal creat one and set it to 1

This may or may not work.

Better to make the change in Ubuntu open a text editor such as gedit as administrator (e.G. In Terminal use command "sudo gedit" and you'll be prompted for your password. Then find file reS in folders etc > default

It's a small file so you'll have no trouble finding the line which is:

UTC=yes

and change it to

UTC=no

It did take me quite a while to find this after lots of misleading info in many places on the internet, such as all the advice about CMOS batteries. Sure if they're faulty they lead to time errors, but not consistent ones that are in line with the world's time zones.

 

-reply by Gordon Woolf

[Nik]

The main problem can be in your motherboard. Test the CMOS battery. Because CMOS(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) battery stores the information about the dates. So if the CMOS batter is old it can create problem in date setting. So check for CMOS battery first. and then go for other checking such as control panel settings and all.

[Maggot]

Nik, on 18 August 2010 - 02:22 PM, said:

The main problem can be in your motherboard. Test the CMOS battery. Because CMOS(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) battery stores the information about the dates. So if the CMOS batter is old it can create problem in date setting. So check for CMOS battery first. and then go for other checking such as control panel settings and all.

He mentioned in his very first post that its not the cmos battery....

Iam sure its the os... Try formating and booting up with 1 Os....

[vhortex]

I have no problem with time with Fedora core 5, Ubuntu and Windows XP on my computer before. I set Fedora to pick the timezone from Taiwan, set Ubuntu to pick time from Taiwan and set Windows time sync to Taipei. Basically I am from Philippines and my timezone is +8 Manila. We don't have Daily Time Savings but the other zones on my timezone does.

The root of the problem was Ubuntu and Fedora can give you an exact timezone up to city level and have more time tables, technically Linux/Unix time is correct but Windows was not. Windows for some reason thinks that a timezone of +8 Manila does not belong to timezone + 8 instead it puts me to timezone +4 or timezone -6 which are both wrong. Since Windows have a time table for Taipei and Australia, I can use them and tell Linux/Unix to use the same city as base timezone.

This does not come with a price since all my bash upgrade commands will start checking Taipei servers before it checks my local real zone to get the downloads.

It is windows at fault and not Linux/Unix (Ubuntu on your part). To confirm to this problem rooting from windows, I installed Mac OS on the same computer on a third hard drive and the timezone did not change when I boot from Ubuntu, Fedora Core 5 and Mac OS however without manually changing the timezone table to what locations that windows ONLY recognize, the time goes wrong.

In order words, all the Operating System I have tried knows how to read the time and gives more precise time zone but Windows will only follow it's own rule. Another one of 'Microsoft Only' standard.