Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > General Motherboard > What device regulates time in the BIOS?

What device regulates time in the BIOS?

Forum Motherboards & Memory : General Motherboard - What device regulates time in the BIOS?

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BobA   01-18-2006 at 03:24:44 AM

Presumably some device on a motherboard regulates time as reported by the BIOS.

Anybody know what it is called?

-Bob

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hergieburbur   01-18-2006 at 03:57:51 AM
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I am pretty sure that is handled ba a clock crystal that vibrates at a certain frequency. That is how most timings are handled, I believe.

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ir_efrem   01-19-2006 at 08:13:43 AM
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Yep, just like a digital watch......

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linux_0   01-19-2006 at 01:51:21 PM
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It is called an RTC = Real Time Clock

On some boards it is removable on some it is integrated.

The RTC is usually powered by the 3.3V Lithium battery on your motherboard, although some older RTCs come with their own battery in the same DIP package.

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BobA   01-19-2006 at 11:19:25 PM
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Thanks, linux_0. Your post sent me to search for 'RTC'.

Here's the more or less complete answer, courtesy of the Dallas Semiconductor company (my summary of a few technical briefs):

A Germanium crystal beating at 32,768 Hz passes this frequency to a Real
Time Clock (RTC), the RTC being powered by the on- motherboard 3.3 v Lithium battery. The RTC passes its signal to the BIOS, which then passes it to the OS. An in- spec crystal will keep time to +- 1 minute / month.

- Bob

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