The OneMinute Geek

The Problem:

What time is it?!  About a year ago my watch died and I never replaced it.  Since then I’ve come to enjoy not wearing one.  Just seems like time slows down a bit more when there are no clocks around.

What do I do now when I need to be somewhere on time?  I take a peek at my cell phone. There’s a clock there.  I also use the one on my laptop.  If you rely on your computer clock, here’s a neat little trick you can do to ensure it is accurate.

The Solution:

Take a look at the lower right-hand corner of your Windows desktop.  You’ll see a bunch of little icons for various programs quietly running in the background.  You will also see the time displayed.  Place your cursor on the clock and double-click.  A window will open called Date & Time Properties.

Click on the tab called Time Zone and make sure your computer is on the right time zone.

Now click on the tab called Date & Time and choose correct month, day, year and time. Click Apply.  (By the way, I have heard of people deliberately rolling back the date a year or two to trick expired software into retrieving updates!)

Want your Windows XP computer to ferret out the correct time automatically?  In that same window you were just in, you will see a tab called Internet Time.  Click on the button Update Now.  If your computer is connected to the Internet, it will immediately check online for the correct time.  

If you want this to update automatically, check the box “automatically synchronize with an Internet time server.” Provided you’re connected to the Internet, your computer will update the time weekly without your having to do anything.

Time to get back to work!

James Kerr is President/CEO of SuperGeeks, a Hawaii-based computer service and repair company (www.supergeeks.net). Send questions, comments and suggestions to help@supergeeks.net or call 942-0773.