computer clock loses time

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hoceen

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My Sony Vaio laptop clock loses time:

If I leave it off for weeks, it will start up with a date and time way in the past.

If I update the date and time, I see that even as I do work with it, it starts losing seconds, and in an hour of being on, it will lose like 10 minutes or so.

I'd imagine that if the battery had a problem, it would lose time while it was turned off, BUT, it happens even when the machine is up and running!

could this be a hardware problem, or a corrupted registry problem, or some virus?

I have Norton Internet Security, and I have done a Live Update for virus definitions several times, and Norton says there are no viruses.
 
It could just be your BIOS is not setup right. Or that your CMOS battery is dying. If it is a hardware issue then it will have to be serviced.

But other than that run all the necessary scans. AV/ Malware/ Spyware to root out the possibility of it being a software problem.
 
Thanks Makaveli!

Haven't touched the BIOS since I got the baby 3 years ago.
Could be the CMOS battery...

Where would I get AV? (don't really know what it stands for)
 
AV is a antivirus. There are plenty of free ones out there. Just check the Free Software MEgathread and it has a few there. But i would check with Eset and try their NOD32 trial. I have found NOD32 to be one of the best AntiVirus apps out there.
 
Well in a laptop it is a bit trickier. Have to most likely remove the keyboard. From there make sure you dont damage that 1mm thick IDE cable. Then after all that find where the CMOS battery is. Then hoe it isnt barried under the HDD. lol ;)
 
Thanks Makaveli andWarez Monster,

guess I'll try changing that battery first & see what happens. (after all, having a new battery won't hurt)

about AV and the other software suggested, why is that Norton wouldn't have picked up the bug if there is one?

Also, do I run any risk of messing up Norton if I install another antivirus?
 
Okay double edged sword on that one.

Norton is the the best Antivirus out there. It has gotten to the point lately that it is mostly bloatware. Software that has so many extras that it forgets what the main task is.

Also many virus writters know how to code them to get them undetected by products such as Norton.

So that is one of many reasons why Norton would pick up on it. As for your 2nd part. Yes and no. No installing a 2nd Antivirus wont hurt Norton. But Yes it will hurt your system.

The reason is this. One app will find a virus and state as such. But then the other will say that it is not a virus. So what ends up happening is your system has a conflict. 1 of 2 things will happen.
1. Your system will hang or lock up till you close out the antivirus apps.
2. It will still go on undetected as the system wont know what to do with the file.

Best bet. Wait till your Norton run sout then get a new AV. Until then use a online scanner and see if they show up with anything.
 
oopsy, forgot to ask which online scanners are best and where to find them! (quite a novice here)
 
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