I don't know if I'm on the right board or not. I bought a GE microwave back in March, and the other night, it started beeping in the middle of the night. My cat likes to sleep on it, but i try to keep her off. Sometimes she gets on top of it at night or when I'm not there. Anyway, I don't know if she accidently hit one of the buttons to start the beeping. Anyway, that night I had to unplug the thing to get the beeping stopped. The next morning, when I plugged it back up, the timer was on zero. I reset the clock and cooked my breakfast, and when it was done, the timer went back to zero. I have reset the clock several times and it will keep good time for awhile, then it goes back to zero, like a timed cooking was done, before you open the door. When I'm not there, I've been unplugging the microwave, cause I don't want any fires or anything. Yesterday, when I plugged it up, I reset the clock, and last night, it was on military time. I reset it and when I got up this morning, it was on military time again. Is there something I can do to get it corrected, or do I need a repairman. I e-mailed the GE people and got a standard answer that they would get in touch with me in 5-7 days.

It is possible that the computer chip is confused, but I suspect you need to read the manual very carefully.

Bob: That's the first thing I did. There was nothing in the manual about it. And I e-mailed the GE people, and got the standard answer.
I'm usually gone all day long, and I've been unplugging it, then I'd reset the clock when I get home. Will that hurt it? I've heard that constantly unplugging something will burn it out.
Last night I locked up the control panel just in case my cat got on top of it. Now that I know how to do that, I will be locking it when I'm not around to keep her off of it.

I'd certainly phone the answer center instead of waiting for an e-mail reply -- 1-800-626-2005

Sometimes we get so used to finding instant answers on the internet that we forget it's still sometimes faster to pick up the phone. It's still possible, though, that you'll get a canned answer on the phone. Companies aren't as willing to divulge repair secrets as they used to be. GE used to offer repair help to DIYers... No more, though. Liability issues, I guess.

Unplugging the appliance should not hurt it, but excessive use of a touch panel can wear it out.