The year 2000 problem, commonly known as Y2K, is a computing issue related to the way computers handle and store date information. A date-related computing issue in any one of three areas of your PC system (hardware, software and p ersonal data files) can potentially cause problems.

The three major contributing causes to the year 2000 issue are:

In the 1940s & 50s, there was limited space on 40 and 80-column punch cards. In the 1970s, computer memory was very expensive. Conserving just two bytes per record in memory (the "19" of 1975, for example) allowed software developers to be more efficient and save millions of dollars for their companies. These programming practices continued because the turn-of-the-century seemed far in the future. Good programming practice now calls for year 2000 aware date-handlin g methods, but many programs—particularly older or custom ones— must be assessed to determine their readiness for the year 2000.

Another source of the problem is sociological—the everyday tendency for people to use two-digit shortcuts to indicate the calendar year. As a result, many computer users have included two-digit date shortcuts (for example, 98 for 1998) throughou t their documents and spreadsheets. This seemingly innocent and timesaving practice is another major cause of the year 2000 issue.

The greatest concern is for large computer systems using software programs written many years ago. Yet all computer systems—mainframe, mini, UNIX, PC, and even devices that have embedded microchips—must be assessed to determine their r eadiness for the year 2000.

Not necessarily. Though it is likely that your PC’s hardware (clock/BIOS) is ready for the year 2000, it is best to confirm this with the PC manufacturer. You should also confirm that your software and personal data files are ready for the year 2000. See the Web site section "Exploring Your PC" for more information about the parts of your computer system that may be at risk for year 2000 issues.

No, the year 2000 issue is not caused by or related to a virus. It mainly stems from the decades-long practice of using two-digit years, a practice that demands interpretation or assumption of the century. And in some cases, it stems f rom the fact that the year 2000 is a "special case" leap year. Running virus detection software will not address or remedy any year 2000 issues.

The impact of year 2000 will depend on the particular computer system—its hardware, software, and personal data files—and the types of tasks for which your computer is used.

Possible scenarios in the new century include:

Microsoft is committed to actively help home and small business customers address year 2000 issues by increasing customer awareness and education, and by providing resources to help customers get ready. Some of these resources incl ude:

There are three parts of every PC system that can be affected by year 2000 issues:

As related to the year 2000 issue, this refers to the inability of some computer hardware, usually the Real Time Clock (RTC) and Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), to correctly interpret the century as the twenty-first (20xx). When the two digits allocated for the year "roll over" from "99" to "00," the BIOS of some computers will incorrectly interpret the year to be "1900" instead of "2000." This will may lead to inaccuracies within the computer system regarding dates and date calculations.

Contact the computer or BIOS manufacturer to learn about your PC’s hardware (RTC/BIOS) readiness for the year 2000. You will need to know the exact model number of your PC when contacting the manufacturer. Web site addresses of several major PC manufacturers are listed in the "Taking Action" section of the Microsoft Consumer Web site.

Do not make assumptions about the BIOS of your computer. It is possible that different brands or versions of the BIOS were supplied during production of the same model of a PC. Make sure that the BIOS of each specific computer you have is ready for the year 2000.

Microsoft recommends that you contact the PC manufacturer to obtain information about the year 2000 readiness of your PC’s clock and BIOS.

It depends on the version of Microsoft Windows. In newer versions, logic has been included to compensate for a BIOS rollover problem. Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.51 (with Service Pack 5), and Windows NT 4.0 (with Service Pac k 4) will all recognize 1900 as an error and automatically compensate by setting the date to 2000.

Yet even with these versions of the Windows operating system (Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.51, and Windows NT 4.0), there are instances when a computer might still encounter BIOS issues. For example:

For these reasons, it is recommended that you identify the BIOS make and version number of your computer, contact the hardware manufacturer, and follow the recommendations of the manufacturer for making sure that your hardware is year 2000 ready.

You can find the latest update to your Windows operating system at these locations:

For most Microsoft software programs, you can find the exact version listed in the program’s "About…" dialog box. The "About…" dialog box is located at the bottom of each software program’s Help menu.

The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer is a software tool that can scan a hard drive to determine the Microsoft operating system(s) and software programs that are installed. It then produces a report that lists the Microsoft products it has found with information about the year 2000 compliance status of the products. For products found, the report also lists the URL for obtaining recommended downloadable software updates.

There are no known issues in any of the tested Microsoft software products related to the date 9/9/99.

The date 2035 is referenced to assure customers of the longevity of most our products. Our testing programs assessed functionality through this period. Many programs, however, will function far beyond this date.

A software update is a program you download to your hardrive for installation. To "download" just means to transfer the program to your computer system from where it is stored on the Web.

When you plan to download an update or any software program from the Web, always look for an accompanying "Readme" document. Readme documents contain important information that will help you better understand the specific update or program yo u will be installing.

It is also important to save the downloaded update to a convenient, specific place on your hard drive. See the next question for specific instructions on how to create a handy folder directly on your desktop for this purpose.

When you are ready to download an update, follow these steps:

Once the update items have been downloaded, open the folder in which you saved them. Double-click on the "Readme" document for instructions on installing the software update.

When you plan to download a software update from the Web to install at a later date, it works well to create a folder right on your desktop for saving items. This allows you to easily find what you have downloaded.

To create a folder called "Download" directly on your Windows desktop:

The use of four-digit years in spreadsheets, database files or any other important personal data files will lead to the highest level of accuracy because the century of the date will be specified and will not need to be interpreted. It is important to verify that your data files, as well as those you exchange with others, are prepared with four-digit-year dates.

We recommend changing the Short Date format in Regional Settings (Windows Control Panel) to a four-digit year so that a "Short Format" year displayed by Windows is fully distinguished in terms of its century.

The formats that are specified in the Windows Regional Settings influence many software programs. Making a change in Regional Settings will help these programs to display four-digit years, thereby minimizing confusion about what century is intended for the dates that are used. For example, the formats in Windows Regional Settings for Short Date and Long Date are adopted by Excel 95 and 98, affecting the default way that Excel displays dates that are in Excel spreadsheets.

The use of dates in Excel is very common, and two-digit date shortcuts to represent calendar years introduce risk to personal files created with Excel. You can greatly reduce potential year 2000 issues by consistently using four-di git dates on all of the spreadsheets you create. This is particularly true if you plan to exchange or share spreadsheet data with others.

You can change the way spreadsheets are formatted in Excel by changing the Date formats in the Windows Regional Settings to use 4 digits for years. To do this, make sure that both the selected formats for the Short Date and the Long Date have four digi ts ("YYYY") for the year.

If you plan to use these spreadsheets in the year 2000 and the spreadsheets contain information that is critical to you, it is best to adjust these files to contain four-digit years.

You need to be cautious about important data files that are shared with other individuals or companies. Even if your system—including all of your personal data files—are year 2000 ready, the files you receive from others may not be. Co mmunicate with other individuals and companies the importance of entering four-digit-years in shared files.

The most reliable way to enter dates in Access is by using a 4-Digit Year Date Input Mask. An Input Mask that is created to allow entry of only four-digit years is the easiest way to make sure that dates are specified with accuracy for the century.

To create an Input Mask that forces the entry of four-digit years, do the following:

To permanently change the way that Word formats dates that are inserted into your documents using the "Date and Time…" dialog box, do the following: