Warning: Please check that the computer's date and time... 0.8.2 Client

[Kitemike]

I've checked that both my CMOS and Windows 7 date and time are correct, yet I have this warning plastered across my client.  Any Ideas?

[Kluge]

Has it been there for a while?

[Maged]

I hate to ask this, but have you double-checked that the year was correct?

[Kitemike]

Yes, I did check the year.  And I think it started the day after the power went out last Sunday.  I've double checked the date and times on both my local DHCP router and my Internet modem.  It doesn't appear to be stopping the program, but it is a mystery.

[desired_username]

Yes, I did check the year.  And I think it started the day after the power went out last Sunday.  I've double checked the date and times on both my local DHCP router and my Internet modem.  It doesn't appear to be stopping the program, but it is a mystery.

I had this warning on my linux client. It didn't cause any problems though and I think it disappeared after a while. Date was correct in my case too.

[grue]

Have you tried manually synchronizing your time with window's time servers? If you fail to synchronize with windows time, it means there's an issue. In some cases, your computer time may appear to be correct, but your timezone is set incorrectly, resulting in incorrect time.

[Kitemike]

Have you tried manually synchronizing your time with window's time servers? If you fail to synchronize with windows time, it means there's an issue. In some cases, your computer time may appear to be correct, but your timezone is set incorrectly, resulting in incorrect time.

All good guesses.  Checked the timezone is set correctly for Utah and it sync'd just fine to the server.  Still have the message. 

I have a file synchronizer program I wrote a few years ago and if there was anything wrong with my systems date/time it would be barfing up 10 thousand files, but it is working fine.  Maybe it's time I pulled in the bitcoin source and started becoming a power-user myself.

[grue]

Have you tried manually synchronizing your time with window's time servers? If you fail to synchronize with windows time, it means there's an issue. In some cases, your computer time may appear to be correct, but your timezone is set incorrectly, resulting in incorrect time.

All good guesses.  Checked the timezone is set correctly for Utah and it sync'd just fine to the server.  Still have the message.  

I have a file synchronizer program I wrote a few years ago and if there was anything wrong with my systems date/time it would be barfing up 10 thousand files, but it is working fine.  Maybe it's time I pulled in the bitcoin source and started becoming a power-user myself.

that's not going to help

check the source for the warning: src/util.cpp


so either:
a) every peer you're connected to is trolling you
or
b) your system time isn't correct.

[Schleicher]

Code:

// If nobody has a time different than ours but within 5 minutes of ours, give a warning
bool fMatch = false;
BOOST_FOREACH(int64 nOffset, vSorted)
  if (nOffset != 0 && abs64(nOffset) < 5 * 60)
    fMatch = true;

This doesn't make sense to me.
Give a warning if the time offset is 0 ?

[grue]

check the next line. If fMatch is false, then the warning triggers.

[Schleicher]

check the next line. If fMatch is false, then the warning triggers.

Yes.
If nOffset is 0 then fMatch is false and we get a warning.

[grue]

Yes.
If nOffset is 0 then fMatch is false and we get a warning.

No but check a few lines above that. It's a BOOST_FOREACH. Therefore, at least 1 peer has to have time in the open interval of (0, 5 minutes) for the warning not to trigger. Also, if you examine the outter if statement, you'll see a check of "if (abs64(nMedian) < 70 * 60)", Which means the check only triggers when that's false.

[Kitemike]

I've tried everything to correct the date/time on my machine and I don't think this has anything to do with the problem.  This morning I tried changing my CMOS and Windows date/time back a couple of weeks, rebooted to make sure everything was saved, changed the settings back to the correct date/time and still have the warning.  Then I remembered I had a couple of VMware OS's installed for testing, so I cranked them up.  Now, these VM boxes should be reading the same system date/time as my main wallet, but the VMs on the same computer don't give the date/time warning.  Weird!

So far it seems harmless but I hate mysteries. Especially when money is involved.

[elasticband]

i had this before after having the battery out of a laptop for a while, had to change time and date in the bios

[grue]

I've tried everything to correct the date/time on my machine and I don't think this has anything to do with the problem.  This morning I tried changing my CMOS and Windows date/time back a couple of weeks, rebooted to make sure everything was saved, changed the settings back to the correct date/time and still have the warning.  Then I remembered I had a couple of VMware OS's installed for testing, so I cranked them up.  Now, these VM boxes should be reading the same system date/time as my main wallet, but the VMs on the same computer don't give the date/time warning.  Weird!

So far it seems harmless but I hate mysteries. Especially when money is involved.

if you have "-debug=1" flag enabled, you can check what the time difference is in the logs. then you can correct your system time accordingly.

[Maged]

How many connections to the network is your client showing?

[ISAWHIM]

could it be that you are just connecting to an "off-time" computer... (Some fast hubs report things like "location NewYork", though you are net-fast and through a fiber-hub in "California". Thus, it might be "assuming" your IP is in another timezone that doesn't match the one on your computer. Irrelevant to your actual connection.)

You would have to do a reverse DNS look-up of "what it thinks your IP" actually is. (As some blocks are/were once locked to specific areas, but have been recently "released" for resale since they started using IPV6, or you may be going through an IPV6->IPV4 or IPV4->IPV6 external "router" on your network. Which I think can also be detected, but not avoided in all instances.)

One way to find-out.... is to change your time/date to another time zone, and another... and another.. until you find the one it "Thinks" you are in.

Time is irrelevant on the net... Pings should be the time-adjustment to any single computer that is "asking for a sync". Dates should never be trusted. Stuff gets there, when it gets there. No matter the time. That is horrible code if it depends on any user-set times... then goes so far to tell you that you are wrong... Well, if it is wrong, the fix it for me, or ignore it, or stop looking at it... Stupid program. lol.

[Kitemike]

... That is horrible code if it depends on any user-set times... then goes so far to tell you that you are wrong... Well, if it is wrong, then fix it for me, or ignore it, or stop looking at it... Stupid program. lol.

I can't agree with you more here, except for one change.  Programs cannot be stupid.  They will always simply be a reflection of the programmer(s).  That, however, will have to be discussion for a different thread.

I currently have 20 connections. I did the -debug=1 switch and looked in the logs and though I didn't understand everything in them, I did not see anything that would indicated a different time than local.  Your thoughts about a router or server up line from my computer having a wrong time is plausible if this problem occurred on other computer within my LAN or within the VMs on the same computer.  My Litecoin wallet on the same computer doesn't have a problem with the time, and from what I know, the two wallets have almost identical code. 

Later today, I'm going to backup my wallet.dat and then blow the whole bitcoin data directory away and uninstall.  I'll let y'all know the outcome when I get it all running again.

[grue]

I currently have 20 connections. I did the -debug=1 switch and looked in the logs and though I didn't understand everything in them, I did not see anything that would indicated a different time than local.  Your thoughts about a router or server up line from my computer having a wrong time is plausible if this problem occurred on other computer within my LAN or within the VMs on the same computer.  My Litecoin wallet on the same computer doesn't have a problem with the time, and from what I know, the two wallets have almost identical code. 

here's what you should be looking for:

Code:

        if (fDebug) {
            BOOST_FOREACH(int64 n, vSorted)
                printf("%+"PRI64d" ", n);
            printf("| ");
        }
        printf("nTimeOffset = %+"PRI64d" (%+"PRI64d" minutes)\n", nTimeOffset, nTimeOffset/60);

[Kitemike]

I currently have 20 connections. I did the -debug=1 switch and looked in the logs and though I didn't understand everything in them, I did not see anything that would indicated a different time than local.  Your thoughts about a router or server up line from my computer having a wrong time is plausible if this problem occurred on other computer within my LAN or within the VMs on the same computer.  My Litecoin wallet on the same computer doesn't have a problem with the time, and from what I know, the two wallets have almost identical code. 

here's what you should be looking for:

Code:

        if (fDebug) {
            BOOST_FOREACH(int64 n, vSorted)
                printf("%+"PRI64d" ", n);
            printf("| ");
        }
        printf("nTimeOffset = %+"PRI64d" (%+"PRI64d" minutes)\n", nTimeOffset, nTimeOffset/60);

"Added time data, samples 11, offset +5 (+0 minutes)
nTimeOffset = +0  (+0 minutes)"

...but what does this mean?