Small Company Y2k Report Essay, Research Paper

Table of Contentss

1. Introduction

2. Testing Procedure

3. Hardware and Software Compliance

4. Drumhead

1. Introduction

Year 2000, Y2K or Millennium Bug!

What is it?

It is a job ensuing from the common scheduling pattern of utilizing merely two-digits to hive away the twelvemonth in package. The pattern dates back to the 1950 & # 8217 ; s when computing machines began to be used for concern intents. Using two figures for day of the months is benign and causes no injury so long as the following twelvemonth is a larger figure than the current twelvemonth. For illustration package applications that use day of the months have no job with the sequence of 95,96,97,98 and 99. However, when the century ends, the twelvemonth 2000 will be stored as 00. Calculations or determinations, based on day of the months or clip periods, can travel earnestly incorrect.

How is it fixed?

Inregard to personal and little concern computing machines, the job is three crease.

First, the computing machine hardware must describe the current day of the month right. Many computing machines, particularly early Pentiums, 486, 386 and 286 based machines, will on the 1st January 2000

Revert back to 1 April 1980 or some other day of the month. Therefore making a possible job until the right day of the month is re-entered & # 8211 ; provided of class that the computing machine can be set manually to a day of the month beyond 311299. Calculation of Leap Year day of the months may besides be incorrect on some computing machines.

Second, the computing machine package must transport out the correct computations based on a four-digit twelvemonth ( e.g. 1999 or 2000 etc ) instead than merely utilizing the last two figures. The provider or maker of the package should be approached to determine the conformity of their codification, or their agenda to hold it corrected and distributed.

Third, your informations must be in the right format & # 8211 ; viz. twelvemonth described as a four-digit figure. If your day of the months have been entered as described above ( that is 15th Feb 1955 entered as 150255 ) , so you have a information transition to be carried out.

Testing Procedure

To find if Windows NT 4.0, Win95 and would turn over to the appropriate day of the month, the control panel applet & # 8220 ; DATE & A ; TIME & # 8221 ; ( d & amp ; T ) was used to alter the day of the months. The machines vitamin D & A ; t were set to the twenty-four hours before each day of the month outlined in the memo. The machine day of the month was changed to a control clip of 11:59:45 PM in each instance. The machine day of the month was so allowed to turn over to the day of the month in inquiry. The machine vitamin D & A ; T was so reset to the old day of the month and control clip. This clip the machine was rebooted while the clip was turn overing to the day of the month in inquiry.

In each instance, after the clip rolled, the day of the month was checked to happen the right day of the month. WinNT and Win95 Explorer was so opened and a file in the & # 8216 ; degree Celsiuss: winnt & # 8217 ; and & # 8216 ; degree Celsiuss: Windowss & # 8217 ; directory was changed to look into whether or non a saved file corresponded with the right day of the month. The information from these trials is defined in the undermentioned tabular array.

& # 8216 ; Data & A ; Time Tested & # 8217 ; column are the Control values found in the memo. Both & # 8216 ; Post Test Date & # 8217 ; columns are the day of the months found in each case after the day of the month rolled from the & # 8216 ; Date & A ; Time Tested & # 8217 ; column to the day of the month in inquiry. The & # 8216 ; Post Explorer cheque & # 8217 ; was tested to see if the machine reported the right clip. & # 8216 ; Post alteration day of the months & # 8217 ; are file day of the months after the file was saved to look into the corresponding day of the month. In each trial, no jobs with the vitamin D & A ; t were encountered.

Consequences: The proving really caused several different things to go on to the OS. Whenever I rolled the day of the month frontward, The undermentioned directories changed the day of the month associated with them:

Windows NT Test C: Winnt, C: WinntSystem32, C: WinntFonts, C: Temp.

Windows 95 Test C: Windows, C: WindowsSystem, C: WindowsFonts, C: Temp

This seemed unusual because the machine clip cast wouldn & # 8217 ; t turn over back when the clip was changed backwards, but this International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t portion of the trial process. When the clip really changes the day of the month will

axial rotation frontward and remain. It won’t axial rotation backwards. I don’t cognize if this affects the testing but it would be wholly impossible to reconstruct the machine each clip the trial was run. This would take many hours to make and it likely won’t affect the information anyhow.

Before I started proving, I looked on the Internet to see what Microsoft said about WinNT 4.0, Win95 and the Y2K job. On this site, there are links to all Microsoft Products. For WinNT 4.0, there were 4 jobs Microsoft listed as known jobs. They are as follows:

1. When you set an history to run out on Feb 29,2000, User director displays the undermentioned mistake.

& # 8216 ; February merely has 28 yearss in this twelvemonth & # 8217 ; . Taken from document Q183125 from Microsoft Tech support for Year 2000

2. Windows NT might jump a twenty-four hours. When turn overing to new day of the months NT may jump several yearss in front. Taken from document Q180122 from Microsoft Tech support for Year 2000

3. When you use the Winnt Find Files or booklets feature, the 2-digit abbreviation of the twelvemonth doesn & # 8217 ; t appear right. For illustration, if the twelvemonth is set to 2001, when you click on the DATE MODIFIED check on the Find: ALL files dialog box, the two digit abbreviation of the twelvemonth appears as:1, instead that 01. Taken from document Q183123 from Microsoft Tech support for Year 2000.

4. When you define a usage belongings to include a day of the month type in the Microsoft Office the twelvemonth may non look right. For illustration, in Word, if you click belongingss on the file bill of fare, click the usage check, chink day of the month in the type field, enter a value of 01/01/01, and so snap attention deficit disorder, the day of the month appears as 01/01/1901 instead that 01/01/2001. Taken from document Q183125 from Microsoft tech support for Year 2000

For Windows 95 operationing system there were 2 jobs listed.

1. The DIR bid shows file day of the months utilizing merely two figures to stand for

the twelvemonth, alternatively of four figures.

2. When you use the DATE bid to put the current day of the month and you type the

twelvemonth as merely two figures from 00 through 79, the DATE bid shows

the mistake message & # 8220 ; Incorrect day of the month format. & # 8221 ;

( These paperss are included with this study )

In each instance, Microsoft states that if you are holding these jobs, installation the following service release should repair these jobs although, this release International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t available yet. During proving, I checked for 2of 4 jobs and in each instance didn & # 8217 ; t happen them. I left out points 1,4. Item 1 was left out because in our operation we don & # 8217 ; t put Local histories to run out, we use the Domain theoretical account so this testing is more appropriate on the waiter, so this International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t an issue with WinNT 4.0 workstation. Item 4 was left out because it pertains to Microsoft Office, which clearly isn & # 8217 ; t portion of WinNT 4.0 workstation.

Microsoft besides states that they have posted 2 hotfix spots that are in BETA to rectify these jobs. They so further province that since these drivers are in BETA, do non put in unless you are sing these jobs. I didn & # 8217 ; Ts have any of these issues, so I didn & # 8217 ; t put in the spot.

In decision, Windows NT workstation has a few minor issues refering to the twelvemonth 2000, but Microsoft promises to hold a Service release available to rectify these jobs. In the trial, merely 2 of the 4 given jobs were investigated, the other 2 Don & # 8217 ; t impact this operation.

For each set of & # 8216 ; Control Data & # 8217 ; a consequence was given in a table format. From these Numberss it can be shown that WinNT 4.0 passed the trial outlined in the twelvemonth 2000 memo.

Microsoft & # 8217 ; s known jobs were addressed as they applied. Since 2 of the trials didn & # 8217 ; t use, they weren & # 8217 ; t used the other 2 were tested and found that we were non sing these issues. From this I can safely province that in worst instance merely a few machines, if any, will be affected by Y2K. If we have machines that are affected, the Service Pack that Microsoft is purportedly let go ofing should repair these issues.

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