Time Zone issue

[Frysk]

Hello and thank you for looking.

Running: Macbook (2007) 13'', OSX, 10.4.11

In 'Date and Time' settings my clock and time zone appear correct, but i noticed my problem when gmail displayed all mail as though I'd received it in GMT+0000 time (I should be +9:30).

I tried resetting the gmail settings via:
Settings > Accounts > Google Account Settings > edit your personal info

The time zone was not shown here, as though I had neglected to choose one. Attempting to change it results in: "Account Summary info has not been changed", with no explanation. I do not, however, think this is the source of the problem.

Typing: "javascript:new%20Date()" into a browser window displays the correct date and time, but the time zone as GMT +0000. This leads me to believe my computer's clock is at fault.

I attempted the following fix: dragging the localtime file from "etc" folder to the trash, and then resetting the time zone. No good. Gmail still displays the incorrect time for all mail.

Hoping someone can help, please.

 

[Signal-11]

By going to gmail, do you mean via web access? Or are you using Mail.app.

 

[Frysk]

By going to gmail, do you mean via web access? Or are you using Mail.app.

Web access

 

[Frysk]

New revelation:

The time zone errors only occur in Firefox. Safari is displaying the correct time in both Gmail and with the "javascript:new%20Date()" commands.

Does anyone know what to do from here?

I'm trying (and failing) to discover how to alter (or even access) the 'time zone environment variable'. Does it even exist on a mac? I think this may be the problem. Instructions to find it in Windows are easy to find with a quick online search, but not for macs.

 

[Signal-11]

Well, I have no issues with it on FF.

That you have no issue with it on Safari would seem to indicate that this is a FF specific issue for you.

What version of FF? Have you tried it from another account on the same machine?

 

[Frysk]

Thank you for looking, Signal-11

FF Version 3.0.13

The date-display javascript command displays an incorrect time zone in Firefox but not Safari, so Gmail is affected regardless of the account.

Well, I have no issues with it on FF.

I don't expect this to be a problem for others, or it would be being shouted all over macrumors. I must have done something that altered Firefox's perception of my time zone. I don't know what I did, and so far I have been unable to discover how Firefox decides my time zone is Greenwich mean time rather than what I have selected in System Preferences (and why Safari does not make the same mistake).

I agree that it's a Firefox-specific problem. I haven't checked other browsers (as they are not installed), but I would rather find and fix the problem them resign myself to using Safari as a semi-solution.

I am struggling with console commands and trying to learn more about time zone environment variables. There is most likely a simple command for me to check if this is the source of my problem (by checking the variable).

 

[Signal-11]

Thank you for looking, Signal-11

FF Version 3.0.13

The date-display javascript command displays an incorrect time zone in Firefox but not Safari, so Gmail is affected regardless of the account.

I understand what you're saying. If you use another user (new) account on the same machine, that will use a separate set of preferences for FireFox. That way, you'd know if this was a preferences setting before you tried the nuclear option of deleting your FireFox customization and profiles settings.

 

[Frysk]

Ergh ... for some reason I thought you meant a different Gmail account. Apologies. Well, this morning I tried a different user account, and Firefox displayed the correct time. However, it is now displaying the correct time for MY account as well! So it's fixed, and I don't know why or how...

Last night I noticed that when I quit Firefox and elected to NOT save my tabs, it still loaded all my tabs (30) when I started up again. I cleared all my private data except for passwords and this still happened. So then I changed my general settings to display a blank page on startup. This fixed the tabs problem. However it DIDN'T fix my time zone problem.

Perhaps shutting down after that made the difference, as the time zone is miraculously correct this morning...

I will post again if the error reappears.