Windows XP. It returns to the same date (probably a production date) after
reboot. I tried setting it up in boot menu, but the problem
remained.
I have good news and I have what might be bad news.
The good news is that the problem is most likely a simple dead battery.
The bad news, is that replacing the battery could be difficult.
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First, I should point out we’re not talking about the laptop battery – the
one you can get at and replace, and the one that gets recharged when you plug
your laptop in. The battery I’m talking about is a very small battery,
typically called the CMOS battery, whose job is to retain your BIOS settings
when the power is off.
And keep the clock running when the power is off.
I have a similar problem on one of my older Dell laptops. When I looked into
it, I found that the battery could be replaced, but only by almost completely
disassembling the laptop first.
Needless to say, the battery has not been replaced. (The laptop
sits in my basement now, continuously plugged in, as one of my test
machines.)
So my advice is this: go to the HP support website and look into what it
might take to replace the CMOS battery. I’m hopefully that my Dell’s difficulty
is the exception rather than the rule, and that you’ll be able to replace yours
easily. But in any case, it’ll depend on the specific model of laptop you
happen to have.
Good luck!
