Palm PDA 'alert' problem

When I started to use the Palm IIIx I was extremely happy about 2 things: the synchronisation with Outlook (Calendar, contacts, etc) and the fact that meeting and clock alerts wake the Palm up when switched off (so you don't have to rely on a papercopy when you're not at your PC workstation). Some weeks ago I noticed my Palm stopped that & I would like to correct this. Now, when I switch the Palm on, the alerts come up, but that is no good and/or too late... I don't know where to look or start. Since I noticed the problem I also noticed that the Palm clock often is one day 'off' - The time stays correct but I need to adjust the calendar date. Is this a connected problem?