Clock lags when using Vista

[Eetu with Vista]

Hi,

I've scoured the community and the web for a similar problem description,
and I've found a few but nowhere have I seen any solutions.

My problem is shortly that my system clock loses time when using Vista
Ultimate 32-bit (with English and Finnish MUIs). The loss is several minutes
per hour, probably somewhere in the order of 45 minutes/24h.

I have tried synchronizing my clock to all the different time servers
provided for in the date/time dialog as well as currently a pool.ntp.org
server. This makes no difference - the time loss remains constant. I've also
tried stopping, unregistering, registering and then starting the time server
manually all to no avail. The clock does resynchronize, but still keeps
losing time.

I've also gone through the running processes but can see no suspicious
programs that could be at fault and neither can Windows Defender. I've also
been extremely careful with installing any third-party software so I'm
practically certain the loss of time is not the result of a malware program
nor a virus. I've been using the free AVG Anti-Virus software as there are
very few of them yet available for Vista, but even uninstalling the AV
software didn't help with the loss of time problem.

The time loss only occurs when my computer is on, so I am fairly sure the
problem is not with my motherboard's CMOS battery. My machine is brand new,
so there's that as well. And when I've kept my computer off for longer
periods the clock keeps excellent time.

I'm running a desktop system with the following specs:
-Intel Core 2 Duo processor
-abit AB9 Pro motherboard (Intel P965 chipset)
-Asus VGA EN7950GT graphics card
-4GB of Transcend 533MHz DDR2 RAM
-3 Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA-II drives (no RAID set-up)

I'd be happy to provide more information to solve the problem as it's
driving me a bit crazy at the moment :) For the time being I've circumvented
the problem by changing the syncing interval to fifteen minutes, but I'd be
more than interested to know what's actually causing the lag and if there are
other consequences as well.

Kind regards,
Eetu with Vista

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Have you tried turning off the Synch facility on the Internet TAB of
the Adjust Time and Date module -- ie uncheck the box on the TAB where
you choose the clock?

I ask this because at one time there was a bug in VP where setting this
option to ON caused time errors!

You aren't alone since there's a similar query in the Compuserve LAPTOP
Forum ....

[Eetu with Vista]

Yes, I've tried that a number of times, even so that I've first synched to a
time server and then turned the Synch facility off (I've tried this with each
of the default time servers as well as the pool.ntp.org server I mentioned
previously). I've also tried turning Synch off and then rebooting a couple of
times, but even that doesn't seem to make a difference.

[Eetu with Vista]

An update to my situation:

The clock lagging problem is definitely related to the power management
options and the new hybrid sleep state. The only way I can stop my clock from
lagging is if I put my computer to Deep Sleep. When I try to resume from
Sleep the computer doesn't come back 100% - the monitor stays completely
black and can't find a signal. So I have to do a hard boot - power down and
up again.

After this the clock keeps impeccable time until the next reboot or power
down. After that, the lag reappears. The problem remains. I've most likely
isolated the synchronization as a cause of the lag, though. Numerous reboots,
power downs and such have pretty much convinced me that the problem lies
elsewhere.

Ideas, similar experiences, anyone?

[Bill Marriott]

This is why God made tinyURL.com

"Hugh Wyn Griffith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here's a link to the thread in Compuserve's Laptop Forum:
>
> http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?
> tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ws-laptop&tid=79864
>
> If that multiline URL does not work for you try clicking on the second
> line and if that does not work then paste the two halves into the
> address box.

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Pinning it down to the sleep function is helpful -- I just hope it
leaks through to Microsoft so they can fix it.

If I may I'll pass the information on in LAPTOP.

Meanwhile use the NISTime utility to reset it from the desktop?

[Bill Marriott]

Yes, well, posting in HTML will undoubtedly get more fire and brimstone
coming your way than posting an honest tinyurl. :) I usually supply both the
full url and the tiny one.

> At least in HTML you can do real links with the URL behind the words
> but the real destination showing up in the browser Status Bar.

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

In article <[email protected]>, Bill Marriott wrote:
> posting in HTML will undoubtedly get more fire and brimstone
> coming your way

Time for people to catch up with the real world where not only do
people use HTML but also it does some things much better than "text"
<gdr>

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Well that's one problem solved, at least.

Let's hope the other one goes the same way.

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

In article <[email protected]>, Frogliver wrote:
> Such as deliver malware?

Then you really should not venture on the internet at all .... Nor even
drive a car .....

[makana]

Hi, I'm having the same problem. Not quite as radical - I'm losing about one minute a day. Even when I unclick synchronize and set it manually it is losing time. I'm concerned this is a symptom of a serious problem. Have you found anything else out yet?

Thanks.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

[Pisco]

I have a similar issue. My time clocks lags when using Windows Vista Ultimate x64
AMD x64 4200+. I have called support and they don't know.

How do you change the sync time with NTP.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

[swedan]

Hi,

I actually have this problem with about a couple of minutes per hour.
The thing is - and please don't kill me - I'm not even using x64. I
have Ultimate x32 and have gone mad about finding information about
this problem. Now, thanks to you, I've set my clock synchronizing every
hour (even though I think I'll set it to 15 minutes as you when thinking
about it).

Has any new info arose? There must be a lot of users having this
problem.


--
swedan

[[email protected]]

OK ... I too am having major time issues on an HP Pavilion 32bit
laptop. The time lag is about 15-30 minutes every hour and after a
while web certificates become out of date and unuseable .... and anti-
virus stops auto updating. I got onto HP technical support who only
asked if i wanted to set Daylight Savings Time!! Morons .... even
after explaning time and again the symptoms. I'm completely at a
loss ... I've tried everything from reinstalling Vista to running
numerous malware/virus scans and nothing is coming up ... for a new OS
this is TOTALLY unacceptable! This isn't a minor problem it's a Major
one. Lots of applications use timestamps and so if your clocks wrong
they arn't getting the correct info ..... I'm starting to get Very
Frustrated with MS for this OS .... seriously thinking about going
back to UBUNTU or another distro of Linux.

[Tashkenter]

the same problem with clocks. lag for is approx. 1 min per hour, that's
annoying indeed. as i understood Eetu didn't get clock fixed, so is there
anyway to do that? thanks