WARNING
Do not attempt any tests suggested here unless you have a complete, tested, WORKING backup of your computer and data. ALI will not be held responsible for destruction or loss of data or damage to computer equipment resulting from any suggestions made here.

You should remember from last issue that there are 3 known areas where the Y2K bug may strike: hardware - at the chip level; firmware (eg bios) and operating system; and finally applications software.

For all intents and purposes, it is near to impossible on many machines for the average user to test for chip level problems. If your old (or new) computer harbours a Y2K bug in it's hardware innards there is nothing you can do about it except **BACKUP** your data regularly for transfer to a new system if the old one fails.

There are software products on the market that claim to do some hardware testing. We can neither vouch for these products or recommend against them. The user is advised to exercise reasonable caution, and research any such product and the manufacturer thoroughly before considering purchase or use of these applications.

Bios and operating system vulnerability's can be tested by setting the system clock forward to a few minutes before midnight, Dec 31st 1999, and letting it "roll over". Don't have any applications (programs) running. Close down any that automatically start before you change your clock. Once the date rolls over, don't immediately try to run any programs. Check some basic functions like (win3.11) program manager; (95/98) my computer; etc and make sure you can still access your directories or folders. Try creating a small file (select a file and copy it to a new filename), check it's creation date lists as some time after 99 (possibly 00) then see if your find or search facility can locate it. Windows 3.1 users - there is a known issue where Windows find file in program manager is not able to locate files with a creation date of after the turn of the century. If you don't use this facility, then it's not likely to inconvenience you.

Mac users - your OS should be immune to these problems, but you can check some similar basic operations like double click on your hard disk and check your folders and try finder to search for a file just to be sure.

You would be well advised to visit the home page of your computer manufacturer to check for any known bios limitations or relevant flash upgrades before attempting this. Similarly, check the relevant pages on your operating system manufacturers web site for any known problems or available downloadable upgrades. IBM's OS2 for example has had Year 2000 compliant fix packs available for download for it's Warp4 operating system since 1997. Check our previous issue for links to your operating system manufacturer's Year 2000 web pages.

If you thought you could just buy a computer and just use it, without needing to do any maintenance on it, then you will inevitably run into a nasty surprise, sooner or later. Like any complex system, mechanical or organic, it needs to be looked after it - clean out the rubbish (unwanted files) periodically, have it serviced to de-fragment the hard disk and optimise performance, if it starts to make funny noises, have it looked at before it stops working, and above all, find out what a "back-up" is and learn how to backup your data, properly. A good backup, that can be restored to a working system, may be all that stands between you and the complete failure of your computer system, and that could mean your business.

Applications software problems is the biggest can of worms to deal with as there are so many different applications from a wide range of manufacturers with a vast range of functions and purposes. Test the ones you use the most first. Start the program, try some basic operations with it. Be warned that IF a program does turn rogue, you could lose data. Again we emphasise you MUST have a working back-up before attempting any experimentation. We also suggest strongly that you check the manufacturer's web site for your software package for any known limitations or patches FIRST - in fact, preparing for Y2K tests by checking up on the manufacturers sites is a non-destructive process that you can start immediately.

An easy checklist for Y2K applications compliance testing:

1. List the names, versions and manufacturers of the software packages you use;
2. Armed with this information, check out their web sites for any known problems or patches;
3. Apply patches if required;
4. BACK-UP your WORKING system (and verify your backup works)
5. Set your computers clock forward
6. Start testing by trying out your applications.

These procedures are not guaranteed to find all problems, but they should help locate, identify and rectify many known or suspected issues while there's still time to do so.

Government incentive for Y2K planning and preparedness:

The Australian Taxation Office had made certain allowances and deductions available for Y2K preparedness. This Ruling applies to expenditure incurred in making computer systems year 2000 (Y2K) compliant. It does not extend to replacing hardware or software, but applies to the investigation of the extent of risk and steps needed to prevent anticipated problems.

The complete ruling is available from the Tax Office as Draft Taxation Ruling TR 98/D5. It is available on-line and for download. Consult with your accountant as to how this may affect you, or how to take advantage of these deductions. This concession by the Tax Office is designed to encourage and mobilise positive action on the part of Australian Businesses who may otherwise face serious problems if the Y2K issue is not directly addressed.

Don't miss the boat on this opportunity, and don't put your business at risk by ignoring the issue. It won't go away, and it can't be delayed.

For an excellent and comprehensive list of links to manufacturers web sites, operating system vendor web sites, additional Year 2000 web sites and much more check out the Information Systems Meta-List from the School of Engineering and Applied Science Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Just in case you were starting to wish the year 2000 would disappear, it's not the only date that causes problems for computers and applications. There's a whole string of them, and here's a few:

Difficult dates
1999-09-08--1999-09-09:	9/9/99 is historically used by programmers as not-until-infinitely-later
1999-12-31--2000-01-01:	The y2k-date.
2000-02-28--2000-02-29:	2000 IS a leap year.
2038-01-19--2038-01-19:	Overflow of 32-bit int with nr.of seconds since 1970-01-01 UCT.
2068-12-31--2069-01-01:	POSIX-standard gets clobberd with centuries.