NCEric
875
17
3
I have a computer science degree and spent over an hour trying to set the time zone on a new computer last night.
This screenshot is from another computer which has the options available. I only had "Set time zone automatically" immediately followed by "Set time automatically".
99% of the search results said to enable location services. After doing so at least the first option wasn't greyed out any more but as soon as you'd turn it on it would turn itself off... like one of those toy boxes with a switch on the top where something pops out and turns it off immediately (see https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1u2ddo/the_useless_box/)
After an hour of searching solutions I found a comment with a link to some YouTube video at the bottom of a Microsoft Answers page from the 3rd results page of Google search that said to run `timedate.cpl` which pops up a control panel from what looks like Windows 95.
PileOfWalthers
Thanks @OP for making sure I’m employed. If it wasn’t for people like you I’d have to find honest work.
littlefoxpounce
Why is Windows difficult? Because it's adware bloatware malware and trackers masquerading as an operating system. Make the switch the Debian, it's not as scary as you think
Heavenissize17socks
Have you tried sitting down with the programmers...and hitting them?
ShoopDeDoop
It was most likely because of a group policy that automatically syncs your time to a NTP. I'm guessing you're on a domain?
ErithEndell
MightyIink
Typical Microsoft wants to spy on you before allowing you to change your time zone...
laserfrog
We should return to Win95. It's still obviously there & just loses the fluff. Used to be 64mbs of ram was enough to play games & load webpgs
dashers
Windows 8 onwards has been a nightmare. Used to be simple, control panel for time, set your NTP server if you didn't like the one Windows ships with. Pick a time zone while you're at it. Nice and easy. But now they've made it easy and user friendly by analysing drunk zebras when they use it and have made it an infuriating mess. Someone pointed out recently that all the people who worked on 95 where things like accessibility and UX were really thought through will be long retired now.
Slayrs
Learn to do everything from command prompt or power shell scripts. Windows continues to layer and layer new "features", makes it hard to do anything anymore. But if you learn to do it this way, it doesn't matter how many layers they add!
5ing
Countless times I’ve looked up instructions on how to do something in an OS/software/app and the options to configure the Settings have been arbitrarily changed.
Most recent was how to make Chrome automatically log out of a user’s Google account upon exit. Several tutorials (even very recent ones) show how to do it, but it seems Google has just removed this option
thisistheusernamethatneverendss
Why would they want you to be able to automatically log out of their tracking account.
durandal2
I did this for an hour yesterday except it was to figure out how to change a network from "public" to "private". There's 3 different network control panels and they seem to change with each windows version and the switch I'm looking for seems to disappear arbitrarily
RoboUnicornFishBalls
Get-NetConnectionProfile | Set-NetConnectionProfile -NetworkCategory Private
aducksayswhat
Maybe, but what's the route for someone with little to no knowledge of powershell to knowing that incantation? With the settings GUI there's some offering of "this is where you screw around with network settings" even though it leads to a dead end. That said, IIRC the private-public network change was in an obscure place going back to win7 at least.
aducksayswhat
As much as windows is great for its legacy support, for years I've been wanting them to freeze legacy windows and virtualize it, then burn everything to the ground and start over minus legacy, but there's no guaranteed they'd do it better, if not an expectation they'd screw the pooch even more (need a theramin for input?) Virtualizing also means you may as well investigate another host OS too.
RoboUnicornFishBalls
Oh, there's no chance of knowing that. Lmao.
I just thought it might help you or someone in the future coming via Google or bing