MLS Time Change

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
SunnyCal
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MLS Time Change

#1

Post by SunnyCal »

I understand that making a system date change in a computer that is used for the MLS program can result in MLS problems, how does one go about making a small correction in time without shooting oneself in the foot?

We have a computer at the stake level that's used for MLS (stake system) and the computer clock is off by one hour. Would a small correction in time without changing the date be ok or is that also a risk?
russellhltn
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#2

Post by russellhltn »

Changing time/date in and of itself isn't a problem as long as MLS never sees time as going backwards. That is it say that you don't attempt to start it with an earlier time/date then when you last shut it down.

In your case, if you need to advance the clock, just shutdown MLS, change it and fire it back up. No problem.

If you need to set the clock back an hour, then you'll have to wait at least an hour from the time you shut down MLS until you fire it back up with the correct time. Easiest was to do that is either correct the clock the first thing in the day or last thing before you go home.
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Mikerowaved
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#3

Post by Mikerowaved »

Then (for those in the US) I would suggest downloading and applying the following patch for Windows XP that corrects for the change in the daylight saving time schedule. This will solve the problem of being out of sync by an hour twice a year. ;)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en
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techgy
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#4

Post by techgy »

Mikerowaved wrote:Then (for those in the US) I would suggest downloading and applying the following patch for Windows XP that corrects for the change in the daylight saving time schedule. This will solve the problem of being out of sync by an hour twice a year. ;)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en

A good suggestion. If the update isn't applied then you may find the time being adjusted again once the old time change date occurs.:rolleyes:
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lajackson
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#5

Post by lajackson »

Techgy wrote:A good suggestion. If the update isn't applied then you may find the time being adjusted again once the old time change date occurs.:rolleyes:
Yes. What is happening in the US is that we went to daylight saving time on March 8th, and many of the computers did not, so they are an hour behind. Some clerks noticed and moved the computers up one hour. This is never a problem.

(One clerk in our stake moved the month up a notch while he was moving the hour up a notch. This is always a problem. [grin] )

Next Sunday, April 5th, the computers that did not move on March 8th will move forward an hour. For the clerks that never noticed, the world will be back in its orbit and all is well.

The clerks that noticed and moved their clocks forward an hour will now want to move their clocks back an hour. This is a problem. As Russell said, just do it so that MLS does not notice. The best time to do it would be first thing in the morning when the computer is first turned on and MLS has NOT been started. Another time would be at the end of the day, just before the computer is turned off. If you do this, make certain that no one comes in within the hour and tries to restart MLS.

And as Mike says, you might want to ask your stake technology specialist to patch your computer so that it changes time on the correct days of the year.

This is a three or four week problem in the spring (from the 2nd Sunday in March to the 1st Sunday in April). It only happens for a week in the fall (from the last Sunday in October to the 1st Sunday in November).
jdlessley
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#6

Post by jdlessley »

Mikerowaved wrote:Then (for those in the US) I would suggest downloading and applying the following patch for Windows XP that corrects for the change in the daylight saving time schedule. This will solve the problem of being out of sync by an hour twice a year. ;)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en
If you are going to download the patch/update that Mikerowaved has provided the link to, you must be using a Windows XP computer. It won't work for Linux, Apple and other OS users. Microsoft will try to validate your operating system before allowing the download.

The daylight savings time update is not only for the US. The Microsoft knowledge base article says:
...to resolve an issue that is caused by revised daylight saving time laws in many countries.
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lajackson
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#7

Post by lajackson »

jdlessley wrote:Microsoft will try to validate your operating system before allowing the download.
Now, how would I download the patch onto my flash drive at home, so that I can plug it into an admin computer and install it?
jdlessley
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#8

Post by jdlessley »

lajackson wrote:Now, how would I download the patch onto my flash drive at home, so that I can plug it into an admin computer and install it?
Sounds like one of those updates to Windows XP that Church HQ should push down through MLS.

An alternative would be to use a FHC computer if you have one nearby. Assuming they run Windows XP of course.
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aebrown
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#9

Post by aebrown »

lajackson wrote:Now, how would I download the patch onto my flash drive at home, so that I can plug it into an admin computer and install it?

One way to do it is to download and run the tzedit.exe tool. This is a bit more manual process (you have to pick a timezone, then edit the DST parameters to say that DST starts on the 2nd Sunday of March and ends on the 1st Sunday of November), but it's a tiny download that will fit on any flash drive.

To download it, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914387 and then scroll down to "Method 2: Change the time zone settings on a single computer". There you will find a link for the download as well as instructions for using tzedit.

This is the only way I found for updating the Windows 2000 computers in our FHC, and it will work on WinXP as well.
SunnyCal
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#10

Post by SunnyCal »

Thanks for the responses.

In summary: I can adjust the time up the hour if I'm careful to not change the date, with no problem.
I can only assume that the timezone correction software has never been installed, so I'll follow up with the STS. My other option is to just wait another week and it will correct itself. However, without the software adjustment, the problem will reoccur later in the year when we "fall back".
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