CMOS battery on laptop

[ranj]

Hi

 

I got a problem with a laptop where the time is wrong in BIOS, Vista and Ubuntu (Dual Boot).

 

When I have seen problems like this before its normally down to the battery, I have tried opening the laptop and for the life of me cant locate the battery.

 

So I was wondering if there is a way I can use a script at startup on both OS's that will automatically update the time for me.

 

At the moment the time is always one hour behind and if i update the time using the update service in windows it will update itself to the correct time, the same goes with Ubunutu.

 

Does anyone know if a script would work? does anyone have such a script?

 

Any advice would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Fridge]

What's the make and model of the laptop? From my past experience in my last job of working in PC world i have a fair bit of know how when it comes to taking apart laptops might be able to help you find that battery.

[OutToLunch]

Hi

At the moment the time is always one hour behind and if i update the time using the update service in windows it will update itself to the correct time, the same goes with Ubunutu.

 

Do you mean it's precisely 1 hour behind the time it was on when you restart? eg. time is 4PM, restart, it's now 3PM? Just thinking as we're on BST at the moment (+1 hour) something may be set oddly somewhere - or the BIOS is refusing to let the OS set the time properly...

[plexer]

It could be under the keyboard, trackpad or somewhere else.

 

It may or may not be the standard disc shaped one you're used to seeing it could be a little package with a red and black wire coming out.

 

Which wire to cut red or black?

 

Ben

[ranj]

Yes its always exactly one hour behind on both OS's.

[kmount]

Check whether there's regional/tz settings in the BIOS would be my first offering.

 

Secondly, in the BIOS, you can change the time right? - Save it with the changes made but don't let it boot into the OS, just power the unit off, leave it a while, power it up again into the BIOS, has this change stayed?

 

If so, push it into the OS and see whether it's the OS making the changes to the hardware clock or whatnot.

 

See what happens, but as someone else asked, what laptop is it?

[ranj]

Its a Toshiba laptop

[Midget]

i once pulled apart a toshiba laptop pulled the CMOS battery (try taking of the keyboard) and it still wouldn't reset, stripped it right down and found 6 backup batteries.

[ranj]

Secondly, in the BIOS, you can change the time right? - Save it with the changes made but don't let it boot into the OS, just power the unit off, leave it a while, power it up again into the BIOS, has this change stayed?

 

 

I gave this a try and when I powered it back up the clock was fine in BIOS and the OS but after 2 days of not using it I have noticed the time has gone back exactly an hour.

 

Could it be the battery?

[kmount]

It was left off for 2 days and when powered back on it was an hour behind in the BIOS BEFORE getting near an OS?