Something on my computer periodically "corrects" the system time automatically - which would be OK, but it sets it an hour off what it should be. I think it happens when i am online, as if there is some daemon that goes out and gets the current UTC time, and correctly sets my system clock - to Mountain time! As I live in the Central time zone, i don't really see this as helpful.

I'm running Mepis with a KDE desktop, version 3.3.2, i686 processor, with dial-up internet service. I also sometimes boot to Windoze ExPee, but i believe this happens when i am in Linux.

I thought it might be related to Daylight Saving, and the recent rule changes, but it has happened again now in May, so it doesn't appear to be related to a Daylight Saving rule confusion.

Also, i have recently checked to make sure that my hardware setting agrees with my system display. Both and report the same time and timezone. I have not yet tried to do that right after the time is incorrectly adjusted.

I have repeatedly gone into the KDE Control Center, and set the time and timezone correctly. I have also repeatedly set the time correctly via CMOS between boots. This doesn't happen all the time, and i have yet to discern a pattern of what triggers the time adjustment.

This is not a huge deal, but it becomes annoying after awhile. Thanks for any tips.

Check if your system is using ntp-client. It will be in your Administration control panel, probably under System. Or stop the ntpd service from running.

Since you are using KDE you can do this easily.

Open a terminal window.

Run kcontrol. A window will open.

Select System Administration -> Date & Time. A window will open.

Click on the Administrator Mode button and enter the correct password.

Now you will be able to change the time zone and/or stop the automatic time adjustment.

Remember to click the Apply button at the bottom of the window when you are finished making changes.

You should also check to be sure that you have the most recent update for the tzdata package. I recall an update being applied about a week or two ago.

Thank you both for your quick replies.

{BBI}Nexus{BBI}:
What is npt-client? How do i alter or stop the ntpd service?

stress_junkie:
As mentioned, i've already employed the KDE control facility to reset the time; it just doesn't always stay set.

What is tzdata? From its name, i assume this has to do with timezones, and DST settings. This does not appear to be the problem. The KDE Control Center is consistently reporting the correct timezone - in my case, CDT. Where do i look for tzdata?



Is there a daemon or process with ability to automatically access UTC when i am online? Is there a separate timezone setting for this? How do i change or disable it?

Turns out, i misdiagnosed the source of this problem. I was occasionally going online through Windoze ExPee, and that was the culprit. Its default setting was to automatically synchronize my system clock when online, using time-a.nist.gov, but doing so incorrectly. Microsoft and a government site combined to screw things up. Why should i be surprised?

Anyway, i merely disabled this 'feature' and the problem appears to be resolved.