Hi Nick,

On Mon, 2024-12-09 at 18:06 +1100, nick@??? wrote:
> Cannot set the system date through the GUI. Options to set the date
> seem to be missing in the date dialog, not sure why, I will have to
> do a comparison with a functioning Mint machine to learn more. As a
> workaround I temporarily set the date from the command-line using:
> sudo date --set="something" ... but the setting does not persist
> beyond the next boot. When it boots with wrong clock the kids cannot
> use the computer as it won't connect to any https sites.
I'm also a Cinnamon users, having abandoned Mint after 17.3 when it's
Debian version didn't migrate to Devuan.

Surprised you're not using network time. 

I use chrony (there are other NTP servers) and that both get an
accurate date and time from local NTP timeservers on the web and re-
synchronises after any downtime (since on-system timers often drift).

Sorry but I have no exposure to your other issues.

--
Marjorie