I received several replies after forwarding the warning about resetting the
date on your computer to make it Y2K compliant, among these was the following
very sensible advice:
Subj: Important Y2K Information - Read Now!
Date: 07/22/1999 4:45:57 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: fay.kimble(a)virgin.net (Fay)
Reply-to: <A
HREF="mailto:GLAMORGAN-L@rootsweb.com">GLAMORGAN-L@rootsweb.com
</A>
To: GLAMORGAN-L(a)rootsweb.com
Several people have identified one of the so-called Y2K problems, namely the
problem with date sorting. I have got round this problem by creating a year
field by giving it a *text* definition and not a *date* definition.
As far as Excel is concerned there is a set of 3 *patches*, ie Datewatch,
Date Wizard and Date Migrate which have work-arounds for this problem. I
obtained mine from a PCPro magazine cover CD who appear to release various
*patches* every other month. They are also be available from the Microsoft
Technet site below.
It should also be borne in mind that NEITHER Windows 95 nor Windows 98 are
Year 2000 compliant without the appropriate *patches* being downloaded from
the same site. In their unmodified form Microsoft says they are, *Compliant
with Minor Issues* - but do check the extent of the minor issues!
In my opinion the Microsoft Technet site is one of the most up-front of any
software manufacturer and any of you using Windows-driven PCs would be well
advised to pay this site a visit - now!
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/year2k/
You may also wish to check-out the Bug2000 website (the official UK
Government sponsored Y2K site).
http://business.bug2000.co.uk/help/index.shtml Check-out the IT Section.
Do remember that for your PC to be Year 2000 compliant it must have:
* compliant hardware (internal clock/BIOS)
* compliant operating system (patches required)
* compliant software (particularly if date orientated, ie databases and
spreadsheets)
Simply changing the date format from 2 digits to 4 will NOT make your PC Y2K
compliant! (Although it is sensible to use 4 digits for years instead of
two).
There are several downloadable programs to check whether your PC will handle
the year 2000/leap year dates, but do remember the majority of these do so
in the DOS environment, so re-set your PC back to the current date BEFORE
starting Windows, as you risk screwing up your system if your machine fails
the test(s). You could also lose functionality of software you are using on
an evaluation basis (try this free for 30 days!) if the date is not re-set.
Apple Mac users may not be able to use the LDS 1881 Census CDs, but they
won't have Y2K problems either!
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After reading the foregoing, I looked at the site mentioned. It's true that
it contains much info regarding the upcoming Y2K problems. I would certainly
recommend that everyone look at the site. However, for us lazy ones, I
copied the following from the Microsoft site:
"Logic built into the Windows® 98 operating system will automatically set
the date forward at boot time if the BIOS does not roll over the RTC to
2000. The system will not automatically compensate for a BIOS that changes
valid dates. Users of Windows 95, Windows 3.x and MS-DOS version 5.x or later
can address most rollover errors by simply resetting the date in Control
Panel or by using the DATE command in MS-DOS."
So it looks to me like it's just a matter of resetting on January 1, 2000.
However, I could be wrong. I do think this is a problem which needs to be
addressed before Dec. 31, 1999. After all, we have all become very reliant
on our computers, with their ability to exchange information so quickly.
Janet Paxton
Yorba Linda, CA