[comp.sys.att] 6300+ clock problem

news@sean.UUCP (news) (09/09/90)

My PC 6300 Plus (running AT&T's Unix) has a battery-maintained clock
on the motherboard. It has worked almost perfectly for years, but every
year on January 1, it refuses to change years, although it maintains
the month, day and time accurately. Usually after about two weeks
of manually changing the year (with the "date" command), it gets the
year correctly and stays that way until the next Jan. 1.

Well this year it displayed 1996 on Jan. 1 and stills reverts to
1996 every time I power-up. I have to manually change the year
each time. Its really just a minor irritant, but I was wondering
if anyone had this problem and had solved it.

This is, no doubt, a low interest question, so you can write to me
directly at uunet!sean!mka.

Thanks in advance,
Mike Anderson
..!uunet!sean!mka
(405) 943-3123 ofc
(405) 752-5293 home

bud@rescon.UUCP (Alex Batyi) (09/11/90)

In article <109@sean.UUCP>, news@sean.UUCP (news) writes:
> 
> My PC 6300 Plus (running AT&T's Unix) has a battery-maintained clock
> on the motherboard. It has worked almost perfectly for years, but ...
> 
> Well this year it displayed 1996 on Jan. 1 and stills reverts to
> 1996 every time I power-up. I have to manually change the year
> each time. Its really just a minor irritant, but I was wondering
> if anyone had this problem and had solved it.

Mike, this is due to an expired date routine in the kernel.
There is a modified version available from the plus archives on
ssbn and also via ftp from somewhere, (I forget since I don't use it)
Write to ssbn!bill for info on how to access the archive and get
on the 63xx Plus mailing list.
  In the mean time the solution is to shut down Unix and boot DOS.
Then change the date with the DOS date command.  When you bring Unix
back up the year will be correct.  Do not use the Unix date(1) command
to set the date or the problem will resubmerge and you will be in 1996
again.  (Try to remember THAT next time the clock needs setting.
I never do!)
-- 
      AJB                    +1 215 788 5957          [...!bpa!]alba2l!bud
      Quote:"If you lose your memory, forget it!"           bud@alba2l.UUCP
              Agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac:  Someone who stays up
                  all night wondering if there really is a Dog.