Time of day clock stopped – Dell Bios
Problem:
You turn on your computer and get this error:
Time of day clock stopped
You can’t even get into the BIOS to set the time. It just sits at this message forever. My machine is an XPS M1330 but others have reported the same problem with other models.
Solution:
This article was helpful.
- Remove the battery.
- Remove the CMOS battery (coin battery inside the laptop).
- Remove the AC power adapter.
- Hold down the power button for 20 seconds to drain the system of all power.
In my case, I continued holding down the power button while I inserted the AC power adapter and the system booted to diagnostics mode and began working again. I then replaced the other batteries and the machine works again…for now. Time will tell if this is a permanent fix.
yes its happening to me and i feel so low with this…i think I need to try ur advice
I have an Inspiron 1318 that had an issue with the clock not keeping time. When it powered off, it would reset. Also, when in the BIOS the clock would not move forward. I figured it was the CMOS battery, replaced it and it still had problems. I upgraded the A02 BIOS to A06, and when the laptop restarted it gave me the “Time of day clock stopped” message and would not boot or let me into the BIOS setup. I followed these exact steps, including plugging in the AC adapter while holding power and the diagnostic told me the Real Time Clock (RTC) wasn’t working, and said it fixed it. I unplugged it, put all the batteries back in and it’s working again!
There are posts everywhere on forums about this issue, but no one mentions this fix (some even paid $400 for a new motherboard!) Thanks a lot for this post
IF YOU’RE HAVING SAME PROBLEM: TRY THE STEPS LISTED ABOVE BEFORE BUYING REPLACEMENT CMOS BATTERY OR ANY OTHER PARTS. CAN’T HURT- AND WORKED FOR ME!
I have a Dell XPS M1330 that is 2.5 years old, and my time and date had been going back in time like many other xps m1330’s.
I flashed the BIOS, upgrading it from A12 to A15, and had the same error “time of day clock stopped.” You can find this on the Dell website (google will bring you to dell link if you can’t find it). Find the correct download for whatever dell laptop you have.
While updating my BIOS to A15 I had the same message as Brent-that the RTC wasn’t working. Once I logged onto my desktop, the clock was set back to december 2008 (when computer was purchased). I then restarted my computer and entered safe mode with command prompt (F8 before startup). I reset my date and time to the current date and time..and for now seems to be working!! I agree with Brent..great advice- thanks!! A lot of other sites say replace CMOS battery etc…but people definitely should try this first! I hope it continues to work.
Thanksssss good luck yall!
great tip !
worked fine…2 bad i read it too late as my new cmos batt is already on the way;-(
GREAT tips. I have the same problem with my dell dimension XPS m1210 laptop. Cmos battery still in good condition, holding steady 3.17 volts when measured with my multimeter. It’s a bit more tricky with my laptop though. Here’s the steps:
1. Remove the AC power adapter.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Remove the CMOS battery connector to the main board (underneath the keyboard).
4. Hold down the power button for 20 seconds to drain the system of all power.
5. Reconnect the CMOS battery back to the main board.
6. Continue holding down the power button while inserting the AC power adapter until the system power cycles itself and prompts for F5 diagnostic option
7. Press F5 to enter diagnostic program, let it run tests until it’s running memory test B then press “ESC” key to reboot.
8. Re-seat keyboard and battery and AC power adapter then power on again. Press F2 to enter bios setup, “Load Default” bios setting, check date/time and make sure the bios clock is running again.
*If the bios clock does not run, repeat steps 3-8 until the it is running again.
I too have just had the same problem, lucky for me I had take a 2 year warranty and now they are sending an engineer tomorrow to replace the motherboard and CMOS battery as the battery in my motherboard is stuck down with some epoxy resin
Good luck to all those who do not have a warranty
you are great my leptop is now workink fine thanks thanks alot
i flashed the bios and my son powered off my laptopto plug his in before i could finnish. now when i boot it just reads internal clock has stopped working. what do i do?
my clock was stuck at 11am everytime i restart or start up. It would count up and then start all over at 11am in Windows. I did the steps above and it looks like it fixed it. thanks the tip!!
Great it work for me ,thanks (Dell inspiron 1440)!!
Dell Inspirion 1545 ; worked, thanxs.
A friends charger socket broke and he left laptop along while before repairing.
Once repaired got time of day startup msg.
I know it’s an old post, but I had to add my thanks! Working on an old Toshiba A105 with the bios clock stopped- it held the date fine, just that the clock only ran while Windows was running. I updated the bios and played with it for hours before I found this post.
The A105 bios battery is soldered to the mobo; I shorted it out while holding the power button for 30 seconds then powered up on AC only while holding the power button- nothing happened but I kept it pressed for a minute, released it, waited 5 seconds then powered it up.
Got the bios checksum error message, loaded the defaults, set the time & date and I’m good to go!
Thanks again for sharing your technique.
The procedure of removing all power from the computer worked great. It not only fixed my computer error of Clock-Stopped but now my computer clock keeps the correct time.
i changed battery but it doesnt start .what will i do for this problem