How does my computer know about DST?

January 18, 2007 1:33 PM

What (if anything) do I have to do to my computer to make sure it knows about the new U.S. Daylight Savings Time rules?

Usually my computer adjusts itself for DST, but how will it know that the dates have changed? I'm running Windows XP Media Center Edition, and I have automatic updates turned on. Will I need to do anything to make sure that the new Daylight Saving Time rules (2nd Sunday in March, 1st Sunday in November) are used? Also, how about my Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC, running Windows Mobile 2003? My husband's Mac (running OSX)?

posted by Joleta to computers & internet (10 comments total)

2007 Time Zone Update for MS Windows OS.

You may already have it installed, since it was released in Microsoft Update in December.
posted by roomwithaview at 1:37 PM on January 18, 2007

Firstly...there are new DST rules? I'm really out of touch.

I know that we've been deploying a DST patch for Windows XP here at work but I'm not 100% sure if that is a Microsoft solution or something our tech guys cooked up. I would manually run Windows Update and check out what's there.
posted by Diskeater at 1:38 PM on January 18, 2007

Here's something for Windows Mobile.

And according to this article, Mac OS X update 10.4.6 addresses the DST change.
posted by roomwithaview at 1:42 PM on January 18, 2007

Microsoft has shipped a fix for this, linked from this knowledge base article, and available as an optional update from windows update (but it's not yet being installed automatically).

They will ship it as a critical update closer to the actual date of the DST switch... so theoretically, you'll get it as one of your automatic updates, sometime before you need it.

More information from MS here.
posted by toxic at 1:44 PM on January 18, 2007

I have a feeling we're going to be seeing this question a lot in the next 6 weeks.

Wouldn't the client stay on the correct time if one was getting time from a time server?
posted by loiseau at 2:09 PM on January 18, 2007

Time servers send the time in UTC, not local time.
posted by fvw at 2:21 PM on January 18, 2007

Diskeater

Firstly...there are new DST rules? I'm really out of touch.

Beginning in 2007, most of the U.S. will begin Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and revert to standard time on the first Sunday in November.
posted by Artnchicken at 4:21 PM on January 18, 2007

Ah, didn't see Toxic's last link. Good ol' Microsoft.
posted by Artnchicken at 4:23 PM on January 18, 2007

Saw this on Download Squad...
posted by roomwithaview at 7:07 PM on January 18, 2007

Thanks, roomwithaview, for that link to the Windows Mobile .cab file. I really didn't want to edit the registry, but I also think I'll wait for some comments to that article before installing the .cab, since it seems to be meant for a newer version of Windows Mobile than I have.

As for the XP machine, I'll wait to see if it gets the automatic update for DST, and if my clock is off on the second Sunday in March, I'll download the patch then.

My husband with the Mac is on his own. Seems like he'll be okay.
posted by Joleta at 8:12 AM on January 19, 2007