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An at-a-glance view of the problems and solutions for each layer The Year 2000 PC challenge is most manageable when the skills of IT service providers are combined with existing tools to resolve it. In addition, the most important thing to understand about the problem is that it occurs across all five layers of the PC. Each layer is affected by the Year 2000 PC problem, which increases in complexity as it progresses from 1 to 5. So the BIOS (hardware) layer is more quickly and easily resolved than the data sharing layer. In addition, each layer affects the others and none can be treated in isolation. The best Year 2000 PC tools are those that address all layers of the problem.The Problem The BIOS (basic input/output system) initializes every PC on start up and passes date and time information to the operating system and other software programs. The BIOS in each PC sets up the system date and time by reading and automatically correcting the time in the battery-powered clock chip in the PC. If the BIOS date and time are wrong (and new BIOSs can be affected, even now), the data generated by accounting, spreadsheet, inventory, scheduling and payroll software programs can’t be trusted. The Solution
The Problem The operating system is sometimes responsible for feeding information to the other layers, so it is critical that it operates correctly. The standard installation of most common operating systems (including newer operating systems) is not optimized for 2000, which puts successive layers at risk. The Solution
The Problem Every software program treats data a little differently. Our independent research shows that 64% of PC software programs exhibit potential Year 2000 problems in normal usage mode. We've also identified no less than 73 “shades of gray” at this layer. For instance, software programs may be forced to guess the century when the user enters only the last two digits of the year and each software program may guess a different century. Assumptions made by software programs are generally not obvious to the user. The Solution
The Problem Data is fed into a PC, where it is turned into information. If the data includes dates, a problem arises because most PCs cannot allow dates to span a century: years are entered as two digits (YY), yet most PC programs calculate in four-digit years (CCYY). Most programs automatically expand YY dates to CCYY dates, making a variety of century assumptions. Data is thus often turned into incorrect information but this is not apparent to the user who doesn't know what century the program is assuming. The key is to focus on mission critical systems and data so the business can continue operating through 2000 and beyond. The Solution
The Problem PC users constantly share data via disk, e-mail, the Internet, EDI, across networks, and even when users ”cut and paste” or “drag and drop.” When data is shared between one program or PC and another, it might be modified during the transition. This is a bit like spreading a virus. In most cases it happens unknowingly and goes unnoticed. Problems that occur at all of the other layers are compounded when data is exchanged. The Solution
Keep existing data clean The
User Data Layer:
As we delve deeper into the layers of the year 2000 PC problem the complexity of the challenges increase. This is definitely the case with the fourth layer, User Data. Understanding the Problem Because most of us prefer writing year dates as two digits (98 rather
than 1998), the YY format has been commonly used in PCs. However, most
software programs actually calculate in four digit years (CCYY). Many software
programs automatically expand these YY dates to CCYY dates making a variety
of century assumptions. Data is thus often turned into incorrect information
but this is not apparent to the user who doesn't know what century the
program has assumed. Your customers’ data should be checked for the occurrence
of such “short dates” (YY), and spreadsheets and databases cleaned in preparation
for the end of the century. The key is to focus on mission critical systems
and data so your customers’ businesses can continue operating through 2000
and beyond.
1. Discover how many files exist in your organization 2. Determine how old they are 3. Identify how they're affected by the Year 2000 problem 4. Define the roles and purpose of these files 5. Prioritize which need to be repaired first 6. Repair data so it can be used in 2000
An in-depth look at the other layers of the Year 2000 PC problem The
Hardware Layer:
As we discussed in a previous article, the Year 2000 problem affects all five layers of the PC: hardware, operating systems, software programs, user data and data sharing. Simple really. The least complex is the hardware (Basic Input/Output System or BIOS) layer, and the most complex is the data-sharing layer. Think of it as an iceberg. The little white sticky-up bit probably is not the bit you need to worry too much about. For, as we all know, the danger lies below the waterline. But it is one of the first things we need to tackle.
Figure 1: The five layers of the PC Year 2000 problem In this and future articles, I will go over each layer in greater detail, starting with the hardware layer (BIOS). As you know, this layer refers to the PC itself. (By the way, do you notice how the PC is becoming ever more aerodynamic in design? I wonder if this is to speed its fall when you throw it out the window in frustration.) The Issue In many cases, the PC will fail to correctly change from 1999 to 2000. Greenwich Mean Time research into this particular problem, first published as “The Hindhead Report,” has yielded statistics* that show this failure is almost certain (93%) in PCs manufactured in 1996 and earlier. At the end of 1997, some 21% of new models failed the test. During the first half of 1998, 11% of all PCs failed, while 6% failed in the second half of the year. This failure is the result of a YY date from the Real Time Clock (RTC) chip being incorrectly expanded by the BIOS.
There's been much confusion about the role of the RTC in the whole year 2000 question. Let me clear it up for you once and for all. The RTC, like your wristwatch, does not count in centuries, but will work fine into the next century as long as the BIOS is year 2000 compliant. The RTC passes a two-digit year to the BIOS when your PC boots up, and the BIOS should then convert this to a four-digit year to be passed to other programs and the operating system. The good news about this layer is that its simple to diagnose and relatively simple to correct in the vast majority of cases. There are a number of affordable tools available that can test and correct your BIOS problems, and our Check 2000 tool suite includes a BIOS tester and fixer. There has been a lot of interest in this part of the year 2000 problem with specific questions being asked: “Must the RTC be compliant for the PC to be compliant?” and “If your BIOS is OK, is the PC safe to use in the next century?” While I don’t expect your sympathy, you can surely appreciate how many times I have been asked these questions, and just how frustrating it is to constantly explain that this whole BIOS/RTC issue is relatively unimportant. It is simple to diagnose whether a PC has a compliant BIOS (and a compliant BIOS will overcome the deficiency in the design of the RTC). If the BIOS is not compliant, we can make it so in 98% of BIOS types by installing a BIOS fix across the network. Yup, that's right, without even visiting each PC. Oh, and another thing about this irritating little problem. Not all PCs are the same— even those that look exactly the same on the outside. Really. I'm not kidding. It's true. You see, the PC assemblers like to save money (and who can blame them when they live on such small margins). To save money, they often buy components (motherboard/BIOS/RTC combinations) from different suppliers and put them into the same model PC. Believe me, I have seen this time and again: two PCs bought on the same day, from the same supplier one passes, one fails. This is just one of the reasons for my rally cry: EVERY SINGLE PC MUST BE CHECKED. The Fix As far as the BIOS is concerned, first you have to find all the PCs in one organization. You will know from experience that many companies are very casual about exactly how many PCs they have, but when it comes to Year 2000 projects, they really do have to find them all. The hardware status of each PC must be checked and then a BIOS fix can be rolled out to all of them. The vast majority can have a simple terminate and stay resident (TSR) fix applied. This is by far the quickest and easiest way of doing it. And when it comes to solving Year 2000 problems, speed and ease are worthwhile goals because, as we progress through the layers, it becomes more difficult and time consuming. The tiny percentage of BIOSs that can't be fixed can either be repaired and you'll need to question whether its worth throwing budget at old PCs or replaced. In the next
article, I’ll go into more detail on the operating system layer.
Cutting
Through to the PC’s Second Layer:
To recap, the Year 2000 PC problem affects all five layers of the PC: hardware, operating system, software programs, user data and data sharing. In a previous article we dealt with the hardware layer in detail. This time, we'll look at the operating system layer. Like the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), its relatively easy to correct the operating system for the Year 2000. And, like the BIOS, its essential that it be corrected because the operating system is sometimes responsible for feeding information to the other layers. My advice is to isolate and resolve these two layers first so you're free to concentrate on the next three layers, all of which are more time consuming and difficult to resolve. Most common operating systems and that includes the older ones are able to deal with the Year 2000, provided that they're set up correctly. The normal installation of most Microsoft® Windows®-based operating systems isn't ideally configured for use in the next century, but this can be easily diagnosed and corrected. There are some other major issues such as the use of something called the OLE Automation Library. And there are some minor display problems with two Windows operating system components: File Manager and Explorer. Microsoft has produced patches for these problems and provides them free of charge. Check the way your Windows operating system is set up by going to the Start Menu on your screen. Go to “Settings,” then “Control Panel.” Click on the “Regional Settings” icon and go to the “Date” tab shown here.
It is generally recommended that you change the “Short date style” to MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY, but there is a small chance that some of your programs will not accept this change or may react badly to it. To be safe, try this on a test PC first, before using one of your most important PCs. What you need to do at this layer: The Software Programs Layer Research conducted by my company, Greenwich Mean Time, in 1997 showed that more than 64% of 4,000 commonly used PC software programs had the potential, during normal usage and operation, to be adversely affected by dates at the end of this century and into the next. Now, I know this sounds a bit depressing. OK, it sounds VERY depressing. However, this doesn't mean you need to replace all of these programs, although you may need to change the way you install or use them. Always choose a four-digit year option when it is offered. Testing for date problems is difficult and can be dangerous, with some unpredictable results, if you who don’t know what you're testing for or how to conduct the testing. Data may be lost in the process. The problem may be easier if you can identify the program's name and manufacturer (and its Y2K status) on a per-PC basis as this provides a frame of reference to the date window a subject we'll discuss further in this article. We suggest you use a specialist tool to test your PC programs for Y2K issues preferably one that doesn't “open” the programs. Certainly do not use any tools that claim to “change” or “fix” the programs. A specialist tool from a responsible manufacturer is based on sound research into the Y2K problem and a profound understanding of the problem's effects and impact. In addition, a specialist tool addresses all five layers of the problem since none can be treated in isolation. Software programs come in many shapes and sizes. Some are called *.exe, but other possibilities include *.com, *.dll, and so forth. Worse still, some programs that we commonly use are a combination of programs, any of which could contain a Y2K problem. This is an example of a simple software Y2K problem. Other problems are more complex. This screen is taken from a popular accounting software package. Although the program is obviously able to display dates into the year 2000, it incorrectly shows only 28 days in February 2000. The year 2000 was declared a leap year by Pope Gregory 13th in 1582, and hence February should have 29 days.
The most common Y2K problem at the software program and data layer level is known as “Date Windowing.” Date Windowing Date windowing is a technique applied by software developers that allows the PC to guess the century when the user enters insufficient data, i.e., only two digits of the date (YY) to indicate the year. Date windows can be viewed as a neat solution to satisfy the end user's wish to only enter two digits. Trouble is, it makes the same assumptions about the dates you enter, whether you're using your PC to catalogue your CD collection, or log pensioner dates of birth in a pensions database. The fundamental flaw in this solution is that we all have significant dates in our lives that span two centuries and span more than one hundred years. Date windowing was destined to fail right from the start… but I suppose they said that of manned flight as well… Here's How It Works If you were born on May 8, 1930, you can type this date into your PC as 08/05/30. Depending on the program and its date window, this may be interpreted as May 8, 1930 or May 8, 2030. The generic nature of PC programs means that they don’t necessarily have the built-in intelligence to “know” which century you mean when you enter a two-digit date. In most cases, if you were to enter this date as 08/05/1930, the program would interpret it as 1930. Sadly, most of us haven't been using this longer format in the data we've typed into our PCs during the last ten years. So, some data will need to be manually corrected. Our Greenwich Mean Time rally cry is, “Y2K is easily understood two digits bad, four digits good!” I know its not Shakespearean prose, but they say he never wrote all his own stuff anyway. We live in a time when most of us have significant dates in both centuries, such as our life insurance dates, mortgage details, retirement dates, and pension dates. We must get used to the idea that we should always use four digits whenever we type dates into any computer system. Date windows are found in a variety of different types of software programs. They are nearly always used in spreadsheet, accounting and scheduling packages. In addition they can also be found in some Microsoft Windows operating systems. And do you know what the best part of this story is? The date windows differ from one program to another even on the same PC. Microsoft has put a lot of Y2K information into the public domain and I’d advise you to check this Web site for more information. Larry Ruston
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