Computer question

[Timebuilder]

I'm only a semi-geek when it comes to PC's, so here goes.

I went to adjust my clock the other day. No, it isn't the battery or some other "lost time" problem that you often see.

The platform is 98SE.

I double click on the time to open the setting dialog box. I change the time. Now, if I click on any button, such as cancel, OK, or apply, the setting box freezes, and the icon stays on "hourglass" whenever over the box. The only way to get back to normal is to reboot. I can clear the box away by going to "desktop," but clicking on the clock or going through control panel does nothing to bring it back.

A web search brings up all the old "clock" stuff. Nothing for this problem.

Any ideas?

 

[DJS]

Time to brain wipe.

After a while, older versions of Windows simply get, well, tired, for lack of a better term. Basically, they get tons of stuff installed and re-installed, and uninstalled and things just get a little confused.

Back in the days of Windows 9x (95, 98, ME), I'd brain wipe my machines every 4-6 months or so, just as they'd start to do freaky things, like not display the clock correctly.

With Windows XP, I haven't yet had to brainwipe. Much better.

 

[generaltso]

Any ideas?

Post this to one of the thousands of Windows forums available on the internet?

 

[Timebuilder]

Well, General, I was looking for a simple solution, not a rebuild of the registry.

Thanks for the suggestion.

A wipe and reinstall might be the way to go.

 

[pilotman2105]

I agree with the wipe of the harddrive. They are necessary about every 6 months. Another option that may allow you to delay wiping would be to edit the time in the BIOS. Hold F5 or some other key (usually it says hold x key to "enter setup" at the beginning of the boot sequence). From there, see if there are any way to edit the time.

However, other Windows problems will probably start happening if you delay formatting the harddrive.

 

[Singlecoil]

Might have something to do with the clock battery on the motherboard. They are a couple of bucks, usually the same type as in key-chain car alarm devices. When those go binky, weird things can happen. They usually last five or so years, sounds like your computer might be that old. Can't hurt to swap that out.

 

[Dash8]

I agree with the wipe of the harddrive. They are necessary about every 6 months.
However, other Windows problems will probably start happening if you delay formatting the harddrive.

no, thats not necesary every 6 months...sounds like plans from the gateway techsupport handbook
*shaking head*

I use 98se, and it's been the most stable of all the home user platforms. Try finding a copy of norton system works, it has several utilities (or a copy of norton utilities) that has a nice registry cleaner, automatically clears out old left over bits from uninstalled programs and what not, plus it's got a much better defragger (speedisk). I've used it on others pcs and its sometimes amazing how much better the machines will run.

 

[AeroBoy]

Solutions for all Windows problems: Get a Mac.

 

[huncowboy]

Well, General, I was looking for a simple solution, not a rebuild of the registry.

Thanks for the suggestion.

A wipe and reinstall might be the way to go.

go XP... unless you have an old rig, then your only option is to reinstall every 4-6 months. It gets old after a while.

I think they don't even support 98 anymore.

 

[Dash8]

xp isn't the answer either,
after you get it updated it's so bogged down with the 'fixes' that it's no longer reasonable to use my pIII tualatin celeron 1.4gh with512mb 98se is faster than my parents p4 1.5gh and 512mb and xp.

and its still the giant bullseye to the hackers and virus writers out there (particulary if you don't bother to get away from IE or outlook flavors)

yes macs are great machines, if you can afford them and do a lot of graphic arts stuff, but for the general user it's not as capable as a windoze machine (Because of the availability of software, yes i know macs are getting better with their library), same holds true for linux, it's not quite average joe schmoe ready yet, and the software available is somewhat limited.....

 

[travis]

w2k

Windows 2000 Professional is, by far, the most stable version of windows I've ever used. I'm halfway sorry I "upgraded" to XP last year.

XP is pretty easy to use with plug-n-play junk, or if you want to dabble in making movies, I guess. Although it's based upon w2k, it's not nearly as stable. Plus, it's much slower because of all the bloated 'ease-of-use' crap.

I've been running XP Pro for 6 months now, and it's desperately ready for the big scrub down. Late at night I can just barely hear my computer calling out over my night terrors, "Would someone clean slate me, already!" Kinda sad.

You'd think as computers get faster that the operating system would speed up, too. But I wish I still had my old 486 Packard Bell with windows 3.1, because I'm quite sure it went from zero to desktop in a lot less time than this 2.8GHz P4 Giga-Ramonster does with XP. I know darn well my Atari 400 booted up to any ROM cartridge in 2 seconds flat. It's been downhill ever since.

Kids, don't get me started on the old days....300 baud modems, cassette drives and atari basic. Good times, good times!

Anyway, Microsoft keeps adding bulk to their OS faster than the CPU manufacturers can keep up.

Bottom line is this, if your machine can support it, go with win2k. Either way, plan on a reformat at least once a year, whether you want it or not. Basically, keep your personal files portable and in an easy place to find when you're ready to back them up, ro find a really good migration tool. A second physical hard drive helps, too.

 

[Vavso]

Do this ...

reboot to a C :/ and type scanreg/restore select a registry backup from a date prior to this clock problem hit enter and reboot it will give you pre -problem settings and hopefully fix it meanwhile you can go back to any other registry if there are problems Vavso

 

[pilotman2105]

Travis makes a good point. Win 2K is probably one of the better OS that Microsoft has come out with. All the information that I've read on it and my limited experience with it shows that it is a fairly stable system.

I'm interested. Have you ever had "Microsoft gremlins" happen with a 2K system?

 

[toneal]

You can test the clock to make sure it is not the CMOS battery. Go to a dos prompt and type in "TIME" and hit enter, compare the time with the time given by the clock in your system tray. If thats not it then it is Windows 98 causing this.