running xntp3 on a dual processor Pentium III. xntp3 continually logs errors of the form: kernel: set_rtc_mmss: can't update from 50 to 4 kernel: set_rtc_mmss: can't update from 50 to 3 etc. This is being logged in /var/log/messages, and in dmesg. It doesn't seem to affect the time updates, but it fills the log, and obscures other more significant problems.
The problem may be more than annoying, as SMP machines with certain BIOS'es appear to not always be in sync (fixed in later kernel's, try the 6.2 SMP kernel). Note carefully that the message comes from the kernel, not xntp3, so I'm changing the component ...
This problem is consistently reproducable on ASUS P2B-DS motherboards running RH6.0. It is also, interestingly, a problem for NetWare 5.0 on the same motherboard. It does NOT occur in single-processor mode, whether enforced by software or hardware. It only occurs in an SMP kernel running SMP hardware. It is definitely fixed in RH6.2.
My system is running SMP kernel 2.2.12 on an ASUS P2B-D motherboard. Unfortunately, I can't easily upgrade because I have two critical drivers which are dependent on the kernel version, and haven't been updated to the current kernel yet.