This bug (or one like it) still exists in Hardy. I recently upgraded
from Gutsy, and had not previously noticed the behavior I'm about to
describe.
The battery (that powers the real time clock) in my desktop is dead, so
when I kill the power the time resets. Normally I have my computer
hooked up to a UPS, but last night I turned it off.
First, this triggered fsck which takes forever on my 900GB, so I skipped
it. I just ran it a week ago. The computer continues booting but seems
to take an awfully long time. Eventually I am able to log in
graphically.
Next, Ubuntu helpfully informs me that the my clock is set to 2004, and
I might want to fix that. My options are "Ignore" or "Adjust Time" (or
something like that). The default is "Adjust Time", so I choose that.
When I try to connect to a time server, it seems to not work. In the
meantime, my system is running slower than molasses in Svalbard.
After several minutes of blank background I decide to restart X, so I
type Ctrl+Alt+Backspace. Sometime later, I am again presented with the
opportunity to log in. This time it succeeds, albeit slowly.
After the interface gradually appears to me over the next 5 minutes or
so, I attempt to change the time by right-clicking on it in the dock. I
try to choose "Keep synchronized with Internet servers", but I am told
that I do not have have NTP installed. That's funny, because I could
have sworn that I my computer was set up to sync with NTP under Gutsy.
"Oh well, I must be mistaken." I think to myself.
$ sudo apt-get install ntp
...
ntp is already the newest version.
...
$ wtf?
Have I mentioned that my computer is running slowly? Walking, rather? I
run top and notice that a process called rsvg-convert is using over 80%
of my memory. I kill it. My computer is still pretty slow. But by now
the whole Gnome-bar has rendered so I'm beginning to feel confident.
I look at the Firefox icon in fear, wanting to report a bug but not
knowing how long it will take. I launch it, but it's more like a hot air
balloon and less like the space shuttle. In other words, less than
speedy. Aloof, but lumbering.
System -> Administration -> Time and Date
After a while, Firefox starts up and the "Time and Date Settings"
present themselves. I notice that "Keep synchronized with Internet
servers" is selected. Everything is suddenly responsive. The clock is
right.
Why did it take 20 minutes to get to that point? I'm guessing it's
because the behavior in this bug's description results in all manner of
processes trying to reconcile the time discrepancy.
Clearly, I could have simply set the time manually instead of insisting
on network time. Nonetheless my system should have handled this
situation much more gracefully.
This is my first time posting here. I'm not a developer. Please tell me
how I can better contribute.
--
hardware clock overrides time set by ntpdate on boot
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/51502
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