How do I reset the time on my computer without turning it on?

Question

Alright, so today, I did something very stupid: Do an experiment on my computer without backing it up.

So I saw that the calendar in Windows could only go up to 12/31/2999 (or something like that). I was wondering if I set the time to 11:59:59 PM, if it would crash my computer, thinking that if I did I could just restart it from the recovery disc or something. Well, I was right: It did crash it. However, I can't turn my computer on AT ALL. When I try to, it plays a 1-2 second beep, 1 second silence, repeated a total of 3 times. My manufacturer is Dell.

My last backup was from a few months ago, that won't work.

Setting the time should **never** break your hardware. This sounds like a *serious* hardware bug; complain to Dell. — Mechanical snail, Sep 13 '12 at 03:58
Does this mean Dell believes the world will end right at the first minute of the year 3000? — Anthony Miller, Sep 13 '12 at 13:59
@Mechaflash rather, that you shouldn't use hardware from 2012 in the year 3000 — default, Sep 13 '12 at 14:37
In theory, I'd bet you could have crashed your PC with a lesser date, e.g., year 2039. If anything involved in date-keeping is only using 32-bits, you can only go up to 2038. This could be a 32-bit processor, or 32-bit windows, or a program stuck in 32 bits... — Ray, Sep 13 '12 at 16:01
Why don't you try it again for a date between 2038 and 2999, and tell us what happens. — Ray, Sep 13 '12 at 16:01
Oh great, you have created a ripple in the space time continuum. — Moab, Sep 13 '12 at 19:33
What a eloquent but nasty trick to use on someone, muh,ha,ha,ha — Moab, Sep 13 '12 at 19:35
Can you get into BIOS settings at all? If so, time/date should be available from there. — frozenkoi, Sep 13 '12 at 20:37
@frozenkoi Well, it works now, but I couldn't do anything with the software, just hardware. — Jon, Sep 13 '12 at 22:06
OK, so how many more of you have tried this now? Feels like a good night for field testing. — Mike Fahy, Sep 14 '12 at 05:39
The clock on my iMac only goes up to 2038 - http://xkcd.com/607/ - This is what happens when i set it to that time: [Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/doLNG.png) — gadgetmo, Sep 17 '12 at 18:11

Sirex · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-28T01:41:28.820

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Take the CMOS battery out for a few seconds. That's the little watch-type battery on the motherboard. (While the machine is unplugged)

And / or use the CMOS jumper on the motherboard, and drain the CMOS that way. Your manual will tell you how. Normally you move the jumper, turn on for a few seconds, and then move the jumper back.

That will reset the time to 1970-ish.

edited May 28 '13 at 01:41

answered Sep 13 '12 at 00:10

Sirex

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It still does it. – Jon Sep 13 '12 at 00:18
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@chipperyman573 How long did you leave it out? Try 10 minutes or so. – cutrightjm Sep 13 '12 at 00:19
Also, I unplugged every cord and left the battery out for about 30 seconds. – Jon Sep 13 '12 at 00:20
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It will work. That battery is the only reason your pc knows the time when it's off. Personally, i'd move the jumper though - its easier. The exact position of it moved depending on the motherboard, but it's easy to find if you know what it looks like. Check your motherboard manual. – Sirex Sep 13 '12 at 00:38
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drain the power by pressing the power button while cord unplugged, then jumper or removing the battery. Or wait for a while (10mins or more for it to drain). – Logman Sep 13 '12 at 00:59
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CMOS can hold its state for a long time, 10 minutes would be a minimum. – Keltari Sep 13 '12 at 02:13
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I just waited and took my dog for a walk. Worked, thanks! – Jon Sep 13 '12 at 04:42
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@chipperyman573: Now you can tell everyone your dog fixed your computer. – George Duckett Sep 13 '12 at 07:22
Is it possible to remove the CMOS battery from laptops? Never tried opening one so I don't really know. If not, this would be a nasty way to completely screw up someones laptop... – Leo Sep 13 '12 at 16:54
@Leo - Depends. A lot of cheaper motherboards have the battery (stupidly) soldered in to save the .05 cents on the battery clip. Also laptops are not really designed for upgrading and expect a lot of turnover because of wear-and-tear. – James K Sep 13 '12 at 21:00
@Sirex - **"Personally, i'd move the jumper though - its easier."** - And safer too. First, some of those battery clips are not designed properly, and can break when tampered with. You're just less likely to damage your computer using the jumper. Unless you don't know which jumper it is. Just randomly moving jumpers is a bad way to find the right one. Can burn up CPU's, memory, even the MB it'self. – James K Sep 13 '12 at 21:12
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It really seems flaky that a bad time value would keep you from at least getting to BIOS setup. – Daniel R Hicks Sep 14 '12 at 01:18
@DanH If only that were the flakiest thing about the BIOS... – Isaac Rabinovitch Sep 18 '12 at 21:01

Dave M · Answer 2 · 2012-09-13T12:22:36.940

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Check the beep codes carefully. Here are the common Dell codes If the diagnostic is installed you should also be able to run the diagnostic. Press F12 when you see the Dell splash screen.

Beep Codes     Possible Causes
1 - 2          No video card detected
1 - 2 - 2 - 3  BIOS ROM checksum error
1 - 3 - 1 - 1  DRAM refresh error
1 - 3 - 1 - 3  8742 Keyboard Controller error
1 - 3 - 3 - 1  Memory defective or not present
1 - 3 - 4 - 1  RAM failure on line xxx
1 - 3 - 4 - 3  RAM failure on data bits xxx
1 - 4 - 1 - 1  RAM failure on data bits xxx

edited Sep 13 '12 at 12:22

answered Sep 13 '12 at 00:22

Dave M

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Yeah, if he can get into BIOS he should be able to reset the clock from there. – Daniel R Hicks Sep 13 '12 at 02:05
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@DanH - You don't need to get into BIOS to get the **beep** codes. Just turn it on and listen. Beep codes are for catastrophic hardware errors that don't even allow you to get into BIOS, let alone boot. That's why their **beep** codes and not just error codes, just in case the motherboard can't even talk to the basic (text-only) video routines. – James K Sep 13 '12 at 20:54
Don't you mean **if** he sees the splash screen? – James K Sep 13 '12 at 21:01
@JamesK Which I don't. – Jon Sep 13 '12 at 22:06
@chipperyman573 If you are not seeing the Dell spash screen the problem is unlikely to be the time. Add the beep codes and this points to a hardware issue. Have you confirmed the exact beep code? – Dave M Sep 14 '12 at 12:24

How do I reset the time on my computer without turning it on?

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