PC Pro 1998 July/dppcpro0798.iso/Essent/Y2K/Y2K.TXT

Text File | 1997-09-25 | 12KB | 242 lines

Y2K - What's all the fuss about ( or how I stopped worrying about Year 2000)

ABOUT WAVERLY WEB WORKS

   After twenty five years in IT, I decided to set up my own consultancy.
The two guiding principles are "the simpler the better" and "there must be
an easier way". Check out http://www.waverlyweb.com or send an email to
[e-mail] or fax [phone] or phone [phone].

THE SMALL PRINT

   Y2K is shareware, 10 pounds sterling or 15 US dollars will help you sleep
   even easier, please send it to:

   Waverly Web Works, 5 Oak Close, Chiddingfold, SURREY GU8 4SA, UK

   For corporate use or cover disk publishing please apply for a distribution
   licence, this will allow unlimited copying for a once off fee.

   Y2K is entirely non-destructive, Waverly Web Works cannot be held
   responsible for any consequential circumstances how so ever caused.

INTRODUCTION

   If you have made it this far without reading any of the hype, the informed
or the not so well informed features on the year 2000 problem, welcome back
to Earth. Since you have been away, the rest of the world is gradually waking
up to the fact that there might be a few computers and programs that will need
a serious overhaul before the end of the millenium.

   Y2K and a few, carefully crafted, support files can help you easily check
your PC for potential problems before the advent of the world's largest
collective hangover.

   Y2K is a simple, no frills, DOS program. It does not need any version of
Windows to be running. This means the testing is quick, even when the PC has
to be rebooted. All it needs is a PC and a DOS bootable floppy disk.

   Y2K won't leave your PC in a state of disrepair, it is designed to be used
in a low risk environment, it will not fiddle with or adjust any of your
valuable system files or registries, it will not leave a trail of anonymous
temporary files, nor will it create a huge swathe of obscurely named backups.

   Y2K does not write to any hard disk, nor does it alter the PC BIOS. The
Y2K functions that do have to write anything will ONLY require write access
to Drive A:

   It does not matter how old or young your PC is, nor does it matter what
version of MS-DOS, PC-DOS, Windows, or Windows 95 you use. If you use OS/2,
Windows NT, Linux or Unix you will have to ask a friend or colleague how to
make up a DOS bootable floppy disk.

   For any other PC architectures, refer to the problem description and
testing procedures further down, you will probably be able to adapt them to
suit your own environment, albeit with a lot more keying and mouse clicking
than the PC (Intel)ligentsia. If you need more information, please refer to
the contact methods above.

PREPARATION

    In the Y2K.ZIP package you should have the following files:

   Y2K.EXE                      The brains of the operation
   Y2K.TXT                      This file
   AUTOEXEC.BAT                 Low risk startup file
   AUTOEXEC.000                 Copy of the low risk startup file
   AUTOEXEC.001                 Startup file to check the millenium change
   AUTOEXEC.002                 Startup file to check the millenium leap year

   Format a floppy disk and transfer the system files on to it to make it
   bootable:

   format a:/s

   or

   format a:
   sys a:

   Copy all the above files on to the floppy and reboot the PC with the
   Y2K floppy disk still in the A: drive.

   Before going any further, please review the problem description and the
   testing procedure sections below.

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

   Essentially there are three PC levels to the Year 2000 problem:

   1. The on-board clock and how it keeps track of the passing of time.

   2. The operating system and how it interprets the on-board clock.

   3. The application software and how it stores and manipulates dates.

   Y2K can only help you with the first two levels, you will have to test
your application software for yourselves. You may even be able to extract
some sort of certification or guarantee from the application software authors.

   Nevertheless, once you have used Y2K to check out the first two levels,
you will have a much more focussed view of where the problem(s) may occur.

   There are also two Year 2000 issues to be checked, not only January 1st
2000 but also February 29th 2000. Despite what you may have read elsewhere,
2000 is a leap year. Don't take my word for it. Pope Gregory spelt it out in
very simple terms, "if a year is divisible by 4 it is a leap year with one
notable exception, if a year is divisible by 100 it must also be divisible by
400 to be a leap year".

THE ON-BOARD CLOCK

   The electronics industry is no different from any other organisation or
agency, everyone wants more for less. In this particular case, what's the
smallest space (i.e. binary or on-off digits) into which you can pack a
clock counter? A lot smaller, if you choose to start the history of the
world on January 1st 1980. Smaller still, if you forecast the end of the
world to be December 31st 1999. Twenty years is only 631,152,000 seconds!

   This means there are a lot of PCs out there equipped with only a 30 or so
(binary) digit counter, that will flip over to zero on January 1st 2000.
More recent PCs, it is rather difficult to say exactly when, have had a fix
added which recognises the flip over has occurred and adds 20 years to the
current reading before passing the answer on to the operating system.

   Even more recent PCs have been fitted with a much better clock, they will
have no problems at all. But which type have you got? A Type 1, which just
goes back to 1980, or, a Type 2 which only copes if it is still switched on
when the bewitching hour strikes, or, a Type 3 which cruises straight through
no matter if it is switched on or off.

THE OPERATING SYSTEM

   This level seems to be less of a problem than the other two, by the time
that MS-DOS 6.22 was published, the specification for the permissible values
for a year was already set as being from 1980 to 2099. The operating system
uses its own counter once it has started up, that is how some PCs can cope if
they are left switched on as the clock strikes midnight on 31st December 1999.

   However, earlier versions of operating system may not be as far sighted.
They are easily checked, use the DATE command to set 31.12.99, use the TIME
command to set 23.59.55, wait a few seconds then ask the PC what is the date.
Then you have to remember to reset the date and time back to where it was
when you started.

THE APPLICATION SOFTWARE

   Much of the wailing and gnashing of teeth that is being conducted in the
trade press and the national papers seems to concentrate on mainframes and
COBOL.

   PC software is not completely immune, beware the spin doctors in the
Marketing Department, just what exactly does "Year 2000 Compliant" or "Year
2000 Ready" actually mean? In some cases it really means, "does the job for
the next couple of years, but you will have to buy an outrageously expensive
enhancement if you are planning to be in business three years from now".

   Presumably, they can't get labels big enough to get the whole story on the
front of the box. The bottom line is, you still have to push some year 2000
test data all the way through the system to check what will actually happen.

   There is no question that this level will be the most time consuming for
everybody, but why start at this level now, if the lower levels can't cope,
the test results will be just as valuable as the glossy printed brochures.

THE TESTING PROCEDURE

   If you have prepared your DOS bootable floppy disk, see the earlier
preparation section, reboot your PC with the floppy disk in the A: drive.
This means that Y2K is working completely in isolation from your normal PC
setup.

   Y2K starts automatically and displays a quick reference to all of its
options. If you want to run a quick and simple test just type Y2K -Q and
follow the on screen instructions. This tests the operating system level with
whatever version of DOS you used to prepare the DOS bootable floppy.

   The neat part about this quick option is that it tidies up the current
date and time after it has finished and it tells you what it has done and
whether DOS can cope with New Years Eve 1999 and Leap Year 2000.

   The next test sets up the PC to check the millenium change, type Y2K -M
and follow the on screen instructions. Make sure that the floppy disk is NOT
write protected. See below for floppy disk recycling instructions.

   Y2K sets the PC clock, writes a few notes to the floppy disk and then asks
you to switch off the PC and wait for a few seconds. This allows the on-board
clock to flip over without any help from DOS. When the PC is switched back on,
Y2K will compare the PC date with January 1st 2000 and report the result.

   If the PC claims to be back in 1980, it could be a Type 1 or Type 2 PC. To
see which one we then run the test for millenium leap year, type Y2K -L and
follow the on screen instructions. Again, you will have to switch the PC off
and then on. Y2K then compares the PC date with February 29th 2000 and reports
the result.

   If your PC has failed both tests it is a Type 1, if it fails the first
millenium test (Y2K -M) but passes the second millenium test (Y2K -L) you have
a Type 2. If your PC passes all three tests (Q, M and L) you have a Type 3.

   After performing the two latter tests, the ones where you are switching the
PC on and off, your PC will certainly not know what day it is. To get back to
reality, use Y2K -Dyyyymmdd to set the date and Y2K -Thhmmss to set the time.
To be absolutely sure use Y2K -N to just display the current clock setting.

THE BOTTOM LINE

   If your PC passed all the tests with flying colours, allow yourself a
   smug smile of satisfaction as you test your application software.

   If your PC failed the Quick test, you will need a later version of DOS.

   If your PC failed the Millenium test and the Leap Year test, as a minimum
   you will need to change the PC BIOS chip. This Type 1 PC will always have
   to have its date changed every time you switch on after January 1st 2000.

   If your PC failed the Millenium test but passed the Leap Year test, you
   will only have to reset the date once, the first time you switch it on
   after December 31st 1999. Alternatively, leave it on through midnight and
   make sure you have a party invitation, you don't have to sit there and
   watch it roll over!

   If your PC passed the Millenium test but failed the Leap Year test, it is
   probably the version of DOS at fault, make sure you have at least v6.22.

RECYCLING FLOPPY DISKS

   If your 5.25 inch (yes, they are still around!) floppy disk has a small
notch cut into one of the lower corners and it is not covered with sticky
tape, that's fine. If your 3.5 inch floppy disk has only one small square
hole in one of the lower corners, use the little black slider to cover it up.
If your 3.5 inch floppy has two small square holes in each of the lower
corners, only one will have the little black slider, again cover it up.

   If, like me, you try to get the best out of old magazine cover disks and
one month free trials for the Internet, your 3.5 inch disk may not have a
little black slider. No matter, a little high precision sticky tape
engineering can help here. The hole in question is the one on the lower left
when looking at the top (or label side) side of the floppy. Use a small piece
of sticky tape to cover both sides of the hole by wrapping it around the edge,
making sure that it is taut.