Motherboard time and new battery

[Steveski]

I have a fairly new Chaintech VNF4 / VNF4 Ultra ZENITH VE motherboard which keeps losing the correct time setting. It will slow down and lose several minutes a day while alone seems odd but then suddenly will lose several hours. Yes, I have tried 2 new batteries with the same results. Everything else works fine. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[azzey]

Have you reset the CMOS after replacing the battery? Or leave the battery out.

[mjc]

The other thing that comes to mind...where are you checking the time?

If it is in Windows, are you maybe getting the time from a time server...or have it not configured properly for the timeserver?

[Steveski]

Tried both of your suggestions and neither one seems to make any difference. Very odd. Any other suggestions?

[jlreich]

I have the exact same mobo. I occasionally have strange problems with the CMOS. I don't lose time, but once in awhile the CMOS will go crazy and windows will start acting stupid not wanting to shut down among other things. I have to clear the CMOS by taking out the battery for at least ten minutes with the computer unplugged from wall and UPS (very important). This sometimes causes me to have to reactivate windows, and I often have to reinstall Adobe Premiere.

Starting to think this mobo's CMOS has a bug, or maybe the BIOS itself. It hasn't happened for awhile though (knock on silicon).

I have an old socket A mobo that lost time just like yours does. It got so bad I had to use a program that synced the time on the internet every five minutes to keep the clock close to the actual time. Sorry I can't remember the program I used.

The funny thing is, once I moved the machine to another desk when I built the machine I am on now, it keeps perfect time now. Go figure! Maybe something got knocked around in transit??

Computers do strange things sometimes. That's about all I can say.

[Steveski]

I will try leaving the battery out for an extended time. One thing I have noticed is that it never losses time when the computer is on, only when it is shut off. Maybe I just ended up with a couple of bad batteries though they were both new.

Thanks!

[jlreich]

it never losses time when the computer is on, only when it is shut off.

Check the contacts on the battery socket to make sure they don't have any corrosion on them. Maybe clean them with some alcohol and q-tips just to be sure.

Also have a close look at the capacitors on the motherboard with a flashlight. Look for any that are bulging or leaking. Bad caps thread.

Edit - You will know when the CMOS has been reset correctly. You will get a prompt to enter setup when you boot the system. Usually the "hit F2 to enter setup" or similar will appear on the boot screen.