T42p odd pausing and randomizing clock problem

[TPFanatic]

Hello, I have a T42p with a pausing clock. The clock as displayed in Windows XP (and I haven't checked yet, but probably the BIOS too) pauses with Standby and Hibernate and often randomizes itself. This is not a terrible issue, I just have to set it every time I want to browse the web.

I have determined that the issue is not in the software - I put the same environment in another computer and the clock behaves. The issue is somewhere in the hardware, I have tested other environments in this T42p and the clock misbehaves.

I have changed the CMOS battery with another good CMOS battery but the issue remains.

Any ideas where else the problem could lie and what must be done to fix it?

Many thanks.

[theterminator93]

Just throwing this out there, but I had an issue that sounds an awful lot like this with a T60 which only went away with a different motherboard. I went into CMOS setup and saw the clock freeze there, which was my clue...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=115450

[rkawakami]

From the sounds of it, it's probably an issue with the real-time clock (RTC) circuit on the motherboard. Could be a problem with the oscillator (crystal) and/or the power supply used by the RTC which I believe is embedded inside the ICH4 chip. As theterminator93 suggests, you probably have to replace the motherboard to get rid of the problem. If you're good with circuit analysis and component testing and have good eyes, steady hands and the equipment for working with tiny surface-mount (SMT) components, then you might be able to effect a repair.

[TPFanatic]

Darn, sounds beyond my capabilities then. Oh well. I used this machine for a bit, it's perfect otherwise, with a nice Flexview display and the GPU hasn't failed yet.

Thanks for your input and help.