Win 7 Clock Is Failing To Up-date

About 5 days ago, we experienced a lighting surge and then a 12 hour power failure. My wife did not realize until yesterday that her Dell laptop (Win7) was not up-dating the date time, so she was getting errors when she tried to access Amazon's web site (won't connect because the date/time was old).
So, I tried to fix it (yesterday) by going to Control Panel and selecting the Internet Time Tab and keying in the correct date/time.
It seemed to begin working, but today same old problem.
She likes to turn off her laptop, and apparently, when she turned it back on this morning it didn't "Call Home" and update the Internet Time.
Help! My wife doesn't like things that don't work like they always did and thinks the solution is to get a new laptop that can keep time.

 

Some more symptoms I just verified -
When I click on the Internet Time tab on the Date and Time selecion of the Control Panel it tells me - This computer is set to automatically synchronize with 'time.windows.com'
As long as the laptop is active the time gets updated. When it goes to "Sleep" or is turned off the clock stops updating.

 

The computer's time - and a few other things - are maintained by a small battery and this has died. You need to remove the back to replace it, read HERE. Not a job for the totally inexperienced so you might need the help of a local repairer. It's not a big job at all.

 

Thanks Earthling. I'm 82 years old and when you wrote - "...remove the back to replace it ,..." that was a show stopper for me. Not to mention the warning - When inside your computer, make sure you are aware of ESD and its dangers." So I'll need the help of a "local repairer".
Unfortunately, with the "virus" lock-down in our small town there is only one local repairer and he has closed his shop.
For now, I've shown my wife how to set the clock.
Appreciate your taking the time to tell me what's wrong.
Without you and your fellow "Geeks" I would have had to give-up years ago.
Stay safe.

 

Can you access the BIOS?

 

Set the time for her and, for the time being anyway, just leave it connected to the power and put it to sleep at night.

 

Can I access the BIOS? I doubt it.
I was able to contact that local repair guy via his web site (sent an email). I think he has begun to provide curb side pick-up. Might be able to hand it to him and come back when he gets it running properly. Waiting to hear. In the meantime, need to figure out how to tell the PC not to go to sleep.

 

Control Panel > Power Options > Change when the computer sleeps

 

Got it. Thanks

 

I'm still trying to find a repair person. The best I've done is to take it to the Best Buy "Geek Squad" The "geek" told me that my wife's laptop is too old for them to be able to determine and order the part (CMOS battery?). He said if I order the part and bring it in they will do the replacement.
Of course he couldn't tell me how to do that.
Can you tell me what kind of CMOS battery is used in her laptop? It's a Dell Latitude E5500.
If I knew that I might be able to find and order it on the Internet.
Thanks.

 

The vast majority of CMOS batteries are CR2032 and they aren't expensive - £3.40 here for a pack of 4.

 

Super. I found a 2-Pack on Amazon for $2.63.
This reminds me of the old - For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost ...
Also, it just occurred to me that this thread should probably be in the Hardware section. Who knew
Can the "Major" move it or doesn't it matter?
Thanks again for your time, attention and help.

 

If the OS will not update the time when it goes online you can find programs that will do that. You can force time to sync by commands like
net time \\ntp.server /set /y - where ntp.server is a time server of your choosing or w32tm /resync or via software for the time being
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/auto-sync-pc-clock-on-windows-startup/

 

Thanks I'll give that a try while we are waiting for the battery we ordered and hope that Geek Squad will do as they said and install it.

 

foogoo. Excellent suggestion. It only took a few minutes to read the blog, download time-sync, install it and Bob's Your Uncle, the problem was solved. My wife was really pleased. She really gets upset when the PC doesn't do what it did yesterday and the day before...etc. That's a big reason why she won't upgrade from Win7 to Win10.
Anyhow, my one concern is a comment that Earthling made in his first post - "...The computer's time - and a few other things - are maintained by a small battery..."
What other things?
According to Raymond on his blog, installing time-sync is a good way to not having to replacing the battery. His comment - "Changing the integrated battery on the motherboard will solve the problem and it’s quite easy to accomplish on desktop computers but can be much harder to do on laptops. If you don’t want to or can’t take things apart, here are a few ways to automatically synchronize your PC clock on Windows startup. This way you don’t have to manually change the time settings each time you power up your computer."
To me that implies that the battery only does the clock thing and there are no other "few things" to be concerned with.
If that is the case, I'm not going to pay "Geek Squad" to change the battery.

 

There are many settings in BIOS that can be changed from the manufacturer's default values. The CMOS battery provides the power to BIOS to maintain these settings when the computer is switched off. A CMOS battery is fitted by all manufacturers for good reason, not simply to keep time. However if a computer runs well on the BIOS defaults it may be ok to run without one, but I'm not certain about that. Need a hardware expert to comment.

 

Earthling - "...However if a computer runs well on the BIOS defaults it may be ok to run without one..."
It seems to be running OK. My wife doesn't use it for much. E-mails, Amazon purchases, Word Processor to write short letters and create mailing labels.
I don't understand TimW's comment. Does "Yeah,...getting a little old." mean that the BIOS needs a battery or what?

 

The laptop is a bit old.. but its no D630...

 

As it isn't used for anything vital, and as it's running OK I would just leave it for now. If it later does get problems then fit the battery - maybe your local guy will be available by then if needed. I'm older than you btw and recently had to replace the CMOS battery in my laptop. It wasn't difficult.

 

OK I'll just leave it. Thanks for all the help. Btw, I didn't think there was anyone older than me.

 

FYI
If or when you need to replace the CMOS batttery, it's really easy - watch this short video.


BTW It's not a regular CR2032 battery.