Problems with hwclock

This page discusses the problem with /dev/rtc on certain models.

Problem description

On bootup,a message like this shows up:

select() to /dev/rtc to wait for clock tick timed out

The RTC kernel driver can't handle the system clock.

Possible solutions

Using the --directisa switch of hwclock(8)

The hwclock command knows the parameter --directisa to access the system clock "directly" instead of accessing it by using /dev/rtc. There are several ways of doing this automatically.

Generic instructions

Move /sbin/hwclock (or wherever it is located on your system) to /sbin/hwclock.dist and create the following shell script, which you place at /sbin/hwclock

#!/bin/sh
/sbin/hwclock.dist --directisa "$@"

Make the script executable (apply the same permissions you had for hwclock before) and keep your packaging system from overwriting it on updates.

Debian 4.0 (etch)

Add the following to /etc/default/rcS:

HWCLOCKPARS="--directisa"

Debian 3.1 (sarge) and previous

Edit /etc/init.d/hwclock.sh and change all instances of "/sbin/hwclock" to "/sbin/hwclock --directisa".

Compiling RTC-support into the kernel instead of as a module

Compiling RTC-support (CONFIG_RTC) into the kernel instead of compiling it as a module seems to work also. Tested on: 2.6.20.6 at Thinkpad Z61m 9450-3HG

Affected Models

• Thinkpad T60 (not all models)
• Thinkpad T61 (type 7662, maybe others)
• Thinkpad T60p
• Thinkpad X60s
• Thinkpad Z61m

Affected Operating Systems

• Linux, all flavours. Tested with kernel 2.6.18, 2.6.19, 2.6.20.6