Hi. In System Settings -> Computer Administration -> Date and time, the checkbox "Set date and time automatically" doesn't remain checked on subsequent runs, and thus my computer always starts 4 hours ahead for some reason, even though BIOS is configured for the correct local time

Linux systems usually set the hardware clock ( BIOS ) time to UTC, not Local time, as it allows more seamless handling of users with different time zones. If you use the system configuration tools to set the time, then the hardware clock will be set correctly.

Alternately, if your distribution provides a tool to configure this, you should be able to switch the setting so that the system assumes the clock is local time ( which is what Windows does )

I do not know if the Set date and time automatically functions.