PC clock loses time

[colinp]

I have run utorrent on two systems. One is a PC104 (industrial embedded PC) Pentium class 266 MHZ with 256 RAM. Other is old but standard PC - Celeron 366 128 RAM.

Both Windows Me. utorrent works OK and downloads (through my ASDL broadband) at good speeds.

I have to use scheduler due to my ISP (Tiscali UK) download limits at certain times of the day.

I find that both machines lose time at the rate of around 6 hours per day, which ruins the idea of a scheduler.

PC clock actually loses time. ! (I thought it was governed by a clock chip independant of processor?)

If I open the clock (Date and Time Properties) I can see seconds update slower than my watch.. Seems OK when utorrent is not downloading or is downloading slowly, but loses time if downloading at good speed.

AVG antivrus and Zonealarm firewall running, though no better if both uninstalled.

FAQ says utorrent works with 486.

I had no problem running Bittorrent on Pentium 233 class system, but bitorrrent does not support scheduling.

Has anyone else seen this problem ?

Any suggestions?

[Ultima]

1) Windows ME sucks... does it include time synchronization?

2) How much CPU does µTorrent use on either computer?

3) The clock is independent of CPU, but (apparently) not when you're in Windows. I've seen my machine get a few minutes off when I'm doing intensive work for a long time that slows the computer to a crawl, but when I restart my computer, the time is corrected.

[colinp]

I actually find Windows ME quite reliable - I think of it as 98 Third edition.

I will try SymmTime to keep PC time correct.

I don't know how much CPU % is used - how do I check (on Me - NOT 2000/XP)

I am trying to use old/quiet machine for downloads (PC104 system did not need any fans) so I can leave it on all the time (hence no restart to allow time to be corrected) without the fan noise of my newer system annoying the wife.

Thanks for the input

[Firon]

ME is a lot less reliable than 98, why do you think it was phased out in less than a year? It's a terrible OS. 98SE will work better for you, or upgrading to Win2k.

[Ultima]

Indeed it had so many bugs and crashes... I'm amazed it even got released O.o

And if you need to check how much CPU is used, use Process Explorer from Sysinternals.

[Klopp]

I'm running the same system (Pentium 266 MHZ with 256 RAM) on a WinPE system (this is a light version of WinXP) and it runs just fine...

Maybe this could be a alternative...

[colinp]

Thanks Klopp.

I did read on BitTorrent help that Bitotorrent has been known to cause CPU loading problems on 98/Me and it says it also happens with excessive downloading using IE. I think I will try Win 2K as it requires less resources that XP, unless I can fidn the cut down version you suggested.

[mad_yohaa]

I've also noticed this problem... been aware of it for some weeks now.

I'm on Win 98SE, Pentium 500. No AV or Firewall running due to them being lousy in combo with uT.

My router firewalls me.

Anyway, I suffer from a slow clock while the scheduler is running, even when the load is low. It's not 6 hours/day as in the original post, but easily 30mins/day.

Computer is on mains power 24/7.

Odd glitch!

[colinp]

mad_yohaa

Glad I was not only person with this problem.

I reckon it is worse with slower/less powerful CPU.

If your time loss is small, try free download of symmtime which resets your clock and set it to update frequently.

I eventually reloaded my PC with Windows 2000 and time loss issue went away.

I have AVG anti-virus and Zonealarm firewall running and torrent downloads are OK.

Belt and braces I have symmtime installed as well.