The time and date keeps unlocking, why wont it stay locked?

Question

everytime i start my computer the date and time has changed to some crazy past date lite 1969. I fix and lock it and when i shutdown and return it has unlocked and changed again. How do I keep it locked.

Answer 1

PowerBooks, with a couple of minor exceptions, have a clock/PRAM backup battery inside, usually a Li-Ion rechargeable battery that can last nearly ten years or which can punk out after five years or so, depending on the luck of the draw.  When the clock comes up set to baseline (midnight GMT January 1, 1970) repeatedly, that is a dead giveaway that the backup battery is kaput.  That being said, the main battery should hold things up for quite a while, unless it is tanking as well.  (More on that below.)  There are relatively easy fixes for the problem that we can point you to.
What is the specific PowerBook model giving you this problem?  Screen size, processor speed and machine model.  Launch System Profiler in your Utilities folder in the Applications folder.  You should see a Hardware Overview like this in Tiger:
Hardware Overview:
  Machine Name:          PowerBook G4 15"
  Machine Model:          PowerBook3,5
  CPU Type:          PowerPC G4  (3.3)
  Number Of CPUs:          1
  CPU Speed:          1 GHz
  L2 Cache (per CPU):          256 KB
  L3 Cache (per CPU):          1 MB
  Memory:          1 GB
  Bus Speed:          133 MHz
  Boot ROM Version:          4.5.3f2
Copy and paste that into your reply,  Do not include the Serial Number for the machine.  Then click the Power line under Hardware in System Profiler and copy the battery and charger information there into your reply.  That should give us some information about your main battery as well.  It should look something like this:
Battery Information:
  Battery Installed:          Yes
  First low level warning:          No
  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          5527
  Remaining Capacity (mAh):          5405
  Amperage (mA):          0
  Voltage (mV):          16553
  Cycle Count:          0
AC Charger Information:
  AC Charger (Watts):          65
  Connected:          Yes
  Charging:          No