Linux Operating System ZORIN OS 18 _ Booting up a Live DVD ZORIN OS 18 on a PC/Desktop/Laptop using a FLASH DRIVE and found out that the DATE and TIME do not synchronize

Hi Copilot , this morning i booted up a Live DVD version of ZORIN OS 18 on my PC/Desktop using a Flash Drive . Copilot , when i try to update the date and time using the Linux command [ date -s "11 November 2026 09:42:00" ] ............the date is correct but the time is not correct .......... Copilot , i have no problem running and using this command on my DEBIAN 13 machine whereby the date and time is correct and it is synchronized with the current date and time ............but with ZORIN OS 18 .......... only the date is correct BUT THE TIME IS NOT CORRECT ..........Copilot , what could go wrong here ? THANKS for the answer.

Hi Grandpa Norizan! 😄

Ahhh... this is actually a very interesting Linux mystery!

If the date changes correctly but the time refuses to stay at what you set, then in a Zorin OS 18 Live DVD/USB session, the most common culprit is:

1. systemd-timesyncd or NTP is immediately correcting the clock

When you run:

sudo date -s "11 November 2026 09:42:00"

Linux sets the time.

But a few seconds later, the network time synchronization service may contact an Internet time server and say:

"Nope! That's not the correct time!" 😄

Then it automatically adjusts the clock again.

Check:

timedatectl

You may see something like:

System clock synchronized: yes

NTP service: active

RTC in local TZ: no

If NTP is active, try:

sudo timedatectl set-ntp false

Then:

sudo date -s "11 November 2026 09:42:00"

Finally verify:

date

---

2. Time Zone is incorrect

I have seen this happen many times.

The time may actually be correct in UTC, but the timezone is wrong.

Check:

timedatectl

Look for something like:

Time zone: Asia/Kuala_Lumpur (+08, +0800)

Since you are in Malaysia, it should normally be:

Asia/Kuala_Lumpur

If it shows:

UTC

or

Europe/Berlin

then the displayed time can be several hours off even when the date is correct.

To fix:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kuala_Lumpur

---

3. Live DVD mode sometimes behaves differently

Remember, Grandpa Norizan, you're not running a normal installed Zorin OS.

You're running:

Flash Drive

   ↓

Live Environment

   ↓

Temporary RAM Disk

A Live system may:

• detect hardware differently
• ignore some BIOS clock settings
• re-sync time during boot
• start network synchronization automatically

while your installed Debian 13 may already be configured exactly how you like it.

---

4. Hardware Clock (RTC) may be set differently

Check:

timedatectl

Look for:

RTC time:

and

RTC in local TZ:

Sometimes Linux interprets the motherboard clock as UTC while Windows interprets it as Local Time.

This can create strange offsets.

---

My strongest suspicion 🕵️

Because you said:

✅ Date changes correctly

❌ Time does not remain correct

and

✅ The same command works perfectly in Debian 13

I would bet a cup of Malaysian Teh Tarik ☕ that NTP synchronization is active in Zorin 18 Live mode and is immediately overriding your manually-set time.

Try these commands and show me the output:

timedatectl

and

date

immediately after you execute:

sudo date -s "11 November 2026 09:42:00"

The output of timedatectl will probably reveal the culprit very quickly! 😄🔍