I have a Dell PC and I cannot set the clock or the date to today's date and time. When I try I get a message stating that I am not authorized to make these changes, which is utterly ridiculous but I don't know how to get past it! Any help would be much appreciated.:confused: :) :) :p

Were you able to do this before?

Any changes that either happened or that you perhaps made to your computer around the time that the problem started; particularly any software or hardware that you installed or setup.

As you may not be familiar with system, I would go with a repair installation


Repair Installation
A Repair Install will replace the system files with the files on the XP CD used for the Repair Install. It will leave your applications and settings intact, but Windows updates will need to be reapplied.


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

You will probably have to go into the BIOS settings and update the system time. Once you log back in or reboot the PC, connect to the internet and your date and time should re-syncronize.