I've recently purchased a Sony Vaio SZ120P in US. I have a full year
warranty but since I don't live in US I can't make use of it.

My system clock does not run when my laptop is turned off and on too,
i.e. it will show the time and date when it was last set on Windows XP.
For example: if I boot at 10:00, set correct time at 10:05 and
shutdown 10:30, the next time I start the notebook the time shows
10:05. Also when I enter the BIOS the clock is not running!!

I'm not sure if it's a cmos battery problem or a faulty real time
clock. I'd really appreciate your opinions.

Thanks in advance.

Many laptops use rechargeable CMOS batteries. And in some brands, it
only charges when the laptop is actually turned on (simply plugged in is
not enough). On a typical Toshiba laptop, it takes 48 hours to charge,
after which the battery is supposed to run the clock for typically 30
days. Leave the laptop plugged in and turned on overnight and see if
things improve.


jpberta wrote:
> I've recently purchased a Sony Vaio SZ120P in US. I have a full year
> warranty but since I don't live in US I can't make use of it.
>
> My system clock does not run when my laptop is turned off and on too,
> i.e. it will show the time and date when it was last set on Windows XP.
> For example: if I boot at 10:00, set correct time at 10:05 and
> shutdown 10:30, the next time I start the notebook the time shows
> 10:05. Also when I enter the BIOS the clock is not running!!
>
> I'm not sure if it's a cmos battery problem or a faulty real time
> clock. I'd really appreciate your opinions.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

Thanks Barry, I'll try that. But on the other hand, the Sony tech
support told me that the they think the battery is a common 3V DC coin
cell (CR2032, I think), so I suppose that it doesn't needs to be
charged.

The problem is that even when the laptop is on, the real time clock
(RTC) is frozen. I read somewhere that when PCs are plugged, the RTC
does not get its energy from the CMOS battery, is that true? In that
case definitively I have a problem with the clock rather than a flat
battery...


Barry Watzman ha escrito:

> Many laptops use rechargeable CMOS batteries. And in some brands, it
> only charges when the laptop is actually turned on (simply plugged in is
> not enough). On a typical Toshiba laptop, it takes 48 hours to charge,
> after which the battery is supposed to run the clock for typically 30
> days. Leave the laptop plugged in and turned on overnight and see if
> things improve.
>
>
> jpberta wrote:
> > I've recently purchased a Sony Vaio SZ120P in US. I have a full year
> > warranty but since I don't live in US I can't make use of it.
> >
> > My system clock does not run when my laptop is turned off and on too,
> > i.e. it will show the time and date when it was last set on Windows XP.
> > For example: if I boot at 10:00, set correct time at 10:05 and
> > shutdown 10:30, the next time I start the notebook the time shows
> > 10:05. Also when I enter the BIOS the clock is not running!!
> >
> > I'm not sure if it's a cmos battery problem or a faulty real time
> > clock. I'd really appreciate your opinions.
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >

"jpberta" <jpberta********.com> wrote in message
news:1164397092.731411.174590@14g2000cws.googlegro ups.com
>... I read somewhere that when PCs are plugged, the RTC
> does not get its energy from the CMOS battery, is that true? In that
> case definitively I have a problem with the clock rather than a flat
> battery...

Only true of desktops, not laptops. But you still can have a standard
button cell battery in any case.

--
Bill

It may be .... both types of batteries are used by different
manufacturers in different laptops.

It is generally correct that the RTC runs from the battery only when the
laptop is turned off and/or unplugged. If you are not keeping time even
when the laptop is on, then there is a hardware problem and most likely
it's more than just a battery.


jpberta wrote:
> Thanks Barry, I'll try that. But on the other hand, the Sony tech
> support told me that the they think the battery is a common 3V DC coin
> cell (CR2032, I think), so I suppose that it doesn't needs to be
> charged.
>
> The problem is that even when the laptop is on, the real time clock
> (RTC) is frozen. I read somewhere that when PCs are plugged, the RTC
> does not get its energy from the CMOS battery, is that true? In that
> case definitively I have a problem with the clock rather than a flat
> battery...
>
>
> Barry Watzman ha escrito:
>
>> Many laptops use rechargeable CMOS batteries. And in some brands, it
>> only charges when the laptop is actually turned on (simply plugged in is
>> not enough). On a typical Toshiba laptop, it takes 48 hours to charge,
>> after which the battery is supposed to run the clock for typically 30
>> days. Leave the laptop plugged in and turned on overnight and see if
>> things improve.
>>
>>
>> jpberta wrote:
>>> I've recently purchased a Sony Vaio SZ120P in US. I have a full year
>>> warranty but since I don't live in US I can't make use of it.
>>>
>>> My system clock does not run when my laptop is turned off and on too,
>>> i.e. it will show the time and date when it was last set on Windows XP.
>>> For example: if I boot at 10:00, set correct time at 10:05 and
>>> shutdown 10:30, the next time I start the notebook the time shows
>>> 10:05. Also when I enter the BIOS the clock is not running!!
>>>
>>> I'm not sure if it's a cmos battery problem or a faulty real time
>>> clock. I'd really appreciate your opinions.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>>
>

"jpberta" <jpberta********.com> wrote in message
news:1164391701.224596.134390@j72g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> I've recently purchased a Sony Vaio SZ120P in US. I have a full year
> warranty but since I don't live in US I can't make use of it.
>

Isn't the Sony warranty worldwide? It is for most of their other products.

M.I.5¾ ha escrito:

> Isn't the Sony warranty worldwide? It is for most of their other products.

Unfortunately not, I have a limited warranty valid only in US. And if I
try to repair the laptop in any Sony representative outside US, I loose
this limited warranty.