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Wrong date/time? Bad battery likely the cause

By BILL HUSTED

Cox News Service

August 3, 2008

Q:  I have always turned my computer off at night. Recently, when I turned the computer on in the morning, the date and time read Dec. 31, 2001 10:00 p.m. I reset the date and time each day when I power-up via the control panel. The CMOS battery has been changed and I have not installed any new software, with the exception of the automatic Windows XP Pro and Avast updates.

—  Mary Ellen Pollack

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A:  I'd try another battery and also make sure that (1) you used the correct replacement and (2) that it's seated correctly. The symptom is fairly classic of a bad battery.

As you know, the CMOS chip holds in information such as the computer's configuration and time and date. It's possible the chip has been damaged.

Q:  In your Sunday computer tips column, you listed several free software programs you use. My question is, how can I verify that free software offerings on the Web are for real and not scams?

— Lucas Alvarez

A:  Great question. Many free programs are great, but some are crammed with spyware or are just plain bad programs.

My suggestion: Put the program's name in Google and look at several pages of results. Generally, a bad program will attract attention on the Web. I also sometimes try a search like this: +"name of program" +spyware.

That exposes a lot of dishonest programs. But keep in mind that some legitimate programs are accused of being bad ones by uninformed users.

Q:  I don't understand why you said it doesn't matter much whether the computer is left running when it comes to heat buildup. I would think that if the cooling fan is drawing in dust, it would draw in much more running 24 hours than it would running one or two hours. Please explain.

— Jim Norman

A:  You've got me there. Keeping a computer on does draw in more dust, and that's an argument against keeping one on 24/7. As I said in the column, I turn off my computer when I'm away for several hours or more. But — your point notwithstanding — most computers survive for years when left on constantly, and you have to weigh the risk of dust buildup against the wear and tear of powering it up every day. Either way, it's a good idea to open the computer at least once a year and remove dust — after turning it off, of course.

Please send your questions to Bill Husted at tecbud@ajc.com. While he reads every e-mail, not all are answered. E-mails are selected for publication based on the likelihood that the answers will be of general interest.