UC Berkeley Year 2000 Information Departmental and Personal Computers: Find and Resolve Y2K Problems
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PCs Running Windows 3.1x: Y2K Readiness Checklist

Summary
Hardware Go

Many industry-standard (also known as "Intel-based" or "IBM-compatible") PCs have a minor hardware problem affecting their internal clocks: instead of rolling over normally from 1999 to 2000, these clocks will instead revert to a different year. There are a variety of methods available for finding and resolving this problem.

The Y2K Hardware Problem Affecting Many PCs Go

Microsoft notes that Windows 3.1x does not include any features which can correct PC hardware Y2K problems. As a result, you'll need to use some other method to resolve such problems.

Caution! Very old PC application programs, such as those which run under the DOS and Windows 3.1x operating systems, are substantially more likely than more recent applications to have Y2K problems.

If you are using a critical DOS or Windows 3.1x program which has serious, unresolvable Y2K problems, you might need to upgrade or replace this program. This could in turn require a newer operating system, such as Windows 95, 98, or NT, which could also compel an upgrade to a newer PC.
Operating System Go As of June 3, 1999, Microsoft maintains that Windows 3.1x - encompassing both Microsoft Windows version 3.1 and Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.11 - has four minor Y2K "issues," two affecting Windows itself and two affecting the underlying DOS operating system.

Microsoft also asserts that one of these issues can be resolved by installing a no-cost update to the Microsoft Windows File Manager, which is currently available for downloading from Microsoft's Web site.

After installing this update, three Y2K issues will remain. Although no fixes for these remaining issues are available from Microsoft, there are simple workarounds for two of these issues, and all three are very minor.
Application programs Go Check for Y2K compliance.
Data files & data sharing methods Go Check for Y2K compliance.

1. Hardware

[ ] 1.1. Find and resolve Y2K hardware problems in your PCs running Windows 3.1x.

Many industry-standard (also known as "Intel-based" or "IBM-compatible") PCs have a hardware problem affecting their internal clocks: instead of rolling over normally from 1999 to 2000, these clocks will instead revert to a different year (such as 1980).

While this is generally of minor concern, an invalid date could nonetheless cause problems for certain application programs. A small fraction of these problems could potentially have serious impacts. As a result, it's preferable to find and resolve this problem before the year 2000 arrives. The Y2K Hardware Problem Affecting Many PCs Go describes how to do so. Here's a summary:

You can identify which PCs will be subject to this problem by checking with vendors or by using manual or automated software tests.

There are at least ten different methods you can use to prevent the problem from occurring on your non-compliant PCs. Among these:
  • Running an operating system, such as Linux and recent versions of Windows NT, that incorporates a date correction feature;
  • Leaving your PCs turned off over the century transition and using a specific procedure to manually set their dates when they are first started up during the year 2000;
  • Installing small software programs that automatically correct the date;
  • "Flash" updating the software in the BIOS chips in your recently-manufactured PCs to make these chips Y2K compliant;
  • Synchronizing your computers' dates over a network;
  • Upgrading PCs with BIOS add-in cards or other hardware.
Each of these methods has its own particular advantages, limitations, and drawbacks, which are described in the above document.

As a fallback, you can manually reset your problematic PCs to the correct date when the year 2000 arrives. After doing so, all (or nearly all) of your PCs should then continue to maintain the correct date throughout the year 2000 and beyond.

Microsoft claims in its white paper, Windows Operating System Interactions with BIOS and Real Time Clock Go, that Windows 3.1x does not include any features which can correct PC hardware Y2K problems. As a result, you'll need to use some other method, as described above, to resolve such problems.

2. Operating system

[ ] 2.1 Check Microsoft's Web site for the latest updates to its Y2K compliance statement for Windows 3.1x.

Over time, Microsoft has made revisions to its Y2K compliance statements for many of its Microsoft operating systems and applications.

As a result, it's probably a good idea to schedule one or two checks, later in 1999, to see whether Microsoft might have once again revised its Y2K Product Summary for Windows 3.1 Go or Y2K Product Summary for Windows 3.11 Go.

By doing so, you can keep up-to-date regarding any newly-identified problems and fixes.

 Another way to find the Microsoft's Y2K compliance statement for Windows 3.1x:

If the direct link to the Y2K Product Summaries for Windows 3.1x should later be moved or otherwise doesn't work, you should be able to navigate to these statements via Microsoft's Year 2000 Product Guide Go Web page.

On that page, scroll down to the subhead "Search for Microsoft Products." In the list of products below, scroll down to the category "Operating Systems". You may need to scroll down a bit further to see and click either "Windows 3.1" or "Windows 3.11", depending on which version you're running on your PC. Then click the "Perform Search" button. This will generate a list of compliance statements for various releases and language versions of Windows 3.1x.

[ ] 2.2. (Optional) Install Microsoft's Windows File Manager Update to fix one of Windows 3.1x's four minor Y2K issues.

The following instructions were current as of June 3, 1999. If Microsoft should subsequently release a revised Y2K compliance statement for Windows 3.1x, it's possible that these instructions might be out of date. Be sure to check Microsoft's latest Y2K compliance statement for updates, if any.

As of June 3, 1999, Microsoft has publicly identified a set of four minor Y2K issues in Windows 3.1x. Two of these issues affect Windows itself, and two affect the underlying DOS operating system, on which Windows 3.1x is based:

Windows-related Y2K issues in Windows 3.1x:

  • Microsoft Windows File Manager displays an incorrect date if the file is created with a date of 01-01-2000 or later.

  • The date cannot be set to 02-29-2000 in the DATE/TIME control panel applet using the mouse. To work around this issue, use the keyboard to set the date on 02-29 of the year 2000. Note that the system does roll over to February 29 correctly. If the user does not touch the date/time control panel applet on the February 29, 2000, the machine will have the correct time and date.

DOS-related Y2K issues in Windows 3.1x:

  • MS-DOS cannot display a 4-digit date using the DIR command (internal to COMMAND.COM).

  • MS-DOS will not accept 2-digit date changes for the year 2000 and beyond. To enter the correct date, a 4-digit year must be entered to the DATE command (internal to COMMAND.COM). Failure to enter the correct 4-digit date will result in an "invalid date" error.
Resolving the Y2K issue with the Microsoft Windows File Manager program
Caution! Before installing any updates or patches which may alter your computer's operating system software or application programs, and before making any changes to your critical documents (data files), be sure that you have a complete, current backup of your computer's data.

For general backup advice, see the Berkeley Computing and Communications articles
Ask Dr. Micro: How can I back up the files on my computer Go.

Microsoft provides a no-cost fix for the first of the four minor Y2K issues listed above. You can obtain an updated, Y2K compliant version of the Microsoft Windows File Manager program, WINFILE.EXE, via the download links provided in Microsoft's Knowledge Base article:

File Manager Shows Garbled Date for Year 2000 or Later Go

Note that you'll need to download the updated WINFILE.EXE program which is specific to your version of Windows 3.1x: either Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11.

The article above also provides step-by-step instructions for updating your copy of the Microsoft Windows File Manager with the newer, Y2K compliant version. Unfortunately, the instructions for steps 4 and 5 provided in this article are somewhat terse. Below are slightly more detailed instructions for performing these two steps:

Where Microsoft's article states "4. Rename the Winfile.exe file in the Windows directory to Winfile.old.," you'll need to type the following commands at a DOS prompt (e.g. a prompt that looks something like C:> or C:\>):

CD C:\WINDOWS
REN WINFILE.EXE WINFILE.OLD

And where Microsoft's article states "5. Copy the new Winfile.exe file to the Windows directory.," you'll need to type a command similar to the following:

COPY C:\YOURPATH\WINFILE.EXE C:\WINDOWS
In the command above, you will need to replace yourpath with the actual "path," or directory location on your hard disk, into which which you downloaded Microsoft's newer, Y2K compliant version of WINFILE.EXE.

For instance, if you downloaded the newer version of WINFILE.EXE into a NEWFILES subdirectory within a DOWNLOAD directory on your C: drive, you would type:

COPY C:\DOWNLOAD\NEWFILES\WINFILE.EXE C:\WINDOWS

If for some reason the copy command above does not work, then you will need to go back to using your old copy of the Microsoft Windows File Manager file in order to have a functional Windows system. To do so, you'll need to rename it back to its original name by typing:

REN WINFILE.OLD WINFILE.EXE
All three remaining Y2K issues in Windows 3.1x are minor, and two have workarounds

After installing the Microsoft Windows File Manager update, the second through fourth minor Y2K issues identified above will remain present in Windows 3.1x. No fixes are available from Microsoft for these three remaining minor issues.

As noted above, the first remaining Y2K issue, the inability to manually set the date to 02-29-2000 in the DATE/TIME control panel applet using the mouse, can be worked around simply by using the keyboard. And in any event, your PC's system date should roll over correctly from February 28 to February 29, and then to March 1st.

The second remaining Y2K issue, the inability to display the dates which your files were last modified with four-digit years using the DIR command, appears to be simply a cosmetic issue.

You can also work around the third remaining Y2K issue, the inability to enter two-digit years (such as 00) to the DOS DATE command, by always entering four digit years Go, such as 2000, when you use this command.

[ ] 2.3. (Optional, but recommended) Change Microsoft Windows 3.1x's default short date style to display dates with full, four-digit years.

Many personal computer operating systems are set "at the factory" to display dates with two-digit years, such as "05/13/29". These dates are century-ambiguous; they could reasonably be interpreted as falling within either within the 20th or 21st centuries.

It is usually beneficial to change your operating system's "short date style" to display dates using four-digit years, such as "05/13/1929" or "05/13/2029". When you do this, your application programs that use this display format will also start displaying dates with four-digit years. This can help you in three ways:

  • You can now see immediately, when you enter dates with two-digit years, whether your program has assigned these dates to the 20th or 21st century.

  • In some circumstances, this can help prevent dates with century-ambiguous two-digit years from being exported to text files or copied to the Clipboard.

  • With a few application programs, this may enable you to enter a wider range of dates.
For details, see Changing Your Operating System's Default Date Format To Use Four-Digit Years Go .

As a related measure, we also recommend that you follow the practice of entering dates with four-digit years, such as "05/13/1929" or "05/13/2029". For details, see Why You Should Enter Dates With Four-Digit Years Whenever Possible Go .

Here's how to change Windows 3.1x's default short date style to display four-digit years:

  1. Open (i.e. double-click) the Main group icon.

  2. Open the Control Panel icon.

  3. Open the International icon.

  4. In the Date Format box, click the Change button.

  5. Click the Century box to add an X to that box.

  6. In the current window, click OK.

  7. In the "International Settings" window, click OK.
Caveats

If you change your operating system's default date format to use four-digit years:

  • A very small number of programs could exhibit undesirable side effects.

  • You may encounter display and printing problems with certain programs and data files.

  • This could potentially cause problems when sharing data with other programs that aren't expecting to receive dates with four-digit years.

For details, see Changing Your Operating System's Default Date Format To Use Four-Digit Years Go .

More information

It is desirable that you and your department, as well as others outside your department with whom you share data, standardize on a common date format which uses four-digit years.

There are two primary standards you might consider using within your UC Berkeley campus department to represent dates with unambiguous four-digit years: mm/dd/yyyy (a de facto standard in the USA) or yyyy-mm-dd (an International standard, ISO 8601). These methods would represent May 13, 2029, respectively, as as either "05/13/2029" or "2029-05-13".

Nearly all programs should work well with either of these date formats. Nonetheless, there may be a few application programs which cannot properly handle dates entered in one or both of these four-digit-year formats.

Standards for Representing Dates Go

[ ] 2.4. (Optional) Check whether you're using the MS-DOS 6.x MSBACKUP utility.

The DOS operating system is the foundation for, and an integral part of, Windows 3.1x. For the most part, as noted above, the Y2K problems affecting the DOS portion of Windows 3.1x are minor and/or have straightforward workarounds.

However, if you are using, or have previously used, the ancient MSBACKUP utility provided with MS-DOS version 6.x (i.e. MS-DOS versions such as 6.0 and 6.22) to back up your DOS and Windows files, you should be aware that this program has two additional Y2K-related issues. These do not appear to affect the integrity of backed up data, but do appear to have the potential to cause confusion when performing and managing backups.

How do you know if you're running MSBACKUP? For starters, if your backup program is a Windows program, not a DOS (character-based) program, then you're fine - you're not running MSBACKUP.

For links to Microsoft's Y2K Product Summaries that provide information about MS-DOS's Y2K issues, including a detailed discussion of problems with MSBACKUP, see the PCs Running DOS: Y2K Readiness Checklist Go.

If you're still using MSBACKUP, we encourage you to switch to another method of backing up your files. For general backup advice, see the Berkeley Computing and Communications article Ask Dr. Micro: How can I back up the files on my computer Go.

3. Application programs

[ ] 3.1 Check custom-written programs for Y2K compliance.

Custom-written (or "customized") application programs have been written "from scratch" or else extensively modified to perform a customized set of tasks for a specific customer. Some campus departments are running such applications, which typically have been created by departmental programmers or outside consultants. Often, these programs were built using programming or scripting languages, database management systems, or client/server tools.

Custom-written programs are at considerable risk for Y2K problems. Some of these programs may not work properly in the year 2000, or may encounter problems when handling dates from the year 2000 and beyond. If one or more of these programs are of significant importance to your campus department, it is essential that you find and resolve their Y2K problems. It is also imperative that you begin your work as early as possible, as the process of identifying, fixing, and testing fixes to custom applications can often be very time consuming.

Custom Applications: Finding & Resolving Y2K Problems Go can direct you to resources to help you find and resolve Y2K problems in custom applications. In particular, you can obtain a great deal of assistance from the Web pages of the UC Berkeley campus's Year 2000 Departmental Customized Applications Subcommittee, which has identified a phase-by-phase process that can guide you in carrying out this work.

In addition to Windows 3.x applications, you might also need to resolve Y2K issues in any critical, custom-written DOS applications you might be using.

[ ] 3.2. Check off-the-shelf application programs for Y2K compliance.

Caution! Very old PC application programs, such as those which run under the DOS and Windows 3.1x operating systems, are substantially more likely than more recent applications to have Y2K problems.

If you are using a critical DOS or Windows 3.1x program which has serious, unresolvable Y2K problems, you might need to upgrade or replace this program. This could in turn require a newer operating system, such as Windows 95, 98, or NT, which could also compel an upgrade to a newer PC.
It appears likely that most commercial off-the-shelf application programs will work fine in the year 2000. However, some application programs are known to have Y2K problems or issues, ranging from minor to severe. If some of these application programs are important to your department or to your own research or instructional work, you'll need to resolve their Y2K problems before the year 2000 arrives. To do this, we suggest that you:

In addition to Windows 3.x applications, you might also need to resolve Y2K issues in any critical, off-the-shelf DOS applications you might be using.

4. Data files & data sharing methods

[ ] 4.1 Check data files for Y2K compliance.

Data files, including spreadsheets and database files, can harbor Y2K problems. If some of these files are important to your department, or your personal research or instructional work, you'll need to resolve their date-related problems before the year 2000 arrives.

The Berkeley Computing and Communications article Checking your data for Y2K problems Go provides a overview, and the document Data Files: Finding & Resolving Y2K Problems Go describes in somewhat more detail how to check your data files to find and resolve Y2K problems. The following are some key points mentioned in both of these documents:

The primary areas of Y2K-related concern in data files are:

  • Custom macros, scripts, and user-defined functions.

    Some spreadsheet and database files may incorporate custom-written macros, scripts, or user-defined functions which improperly handle dates.

  • Standard date functions.

    Many spreadsheet and database programs provide standard date-related functions which are known to have Y2K-related "usage issues." Examples include Microsoft Excel's =DATE(), Microsoft Access's =DateSerial(), and Lotus 1-2-3's @YEAR().

  • Dates stored as text or numbers.

    Dates stored in spreadsheet cells or database fields as text (e.g., "02/21/15") or integers (e.g., "990405"), may present risks when these values are converted to dates, or when they are compared or sorted.
In addition, we encourage you to take four specific steps to help keep Y2K problems out of your data files Go in the future.

If you are creating data files using DOS programs, as well as Windows 3.1x programs, be sure to check for Y2K issues that might affect those data files, as well.

[ ] 4.2. Check data sharing methods for Y2K compliance.

Data shared between application programs could in some cases present Y2K problems. You can find guidance on finding and resolving these problems in Data Sharing Methods: Finding & Resolving Y2K Problems Go .

Methods of sharing data which are at risk include documents exchanged via disks, e-mail attachments, and file servers; data copied and pasted via the Clipboard; and programmatic data streams between programs.

To find situations where you'll need to check your data sharing methods for potential Y2K problems, ask yourself three questions:

  1. Do you export data containing century-ambiguous dates, such as "05/13/29", from any of your programs?

  2. Do you import data containing century-ambiguous dates into any of your programs?

  3. Do you share any files (such as spreadsheet or database files) containing dates stored as text or numbers, rather than as dates?

If you are using DOS programs, as well as Windows 3.1x programs, be sure to check any data sharing issues that might affect those programs, as well.


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This site is provided by the campus Year 2000 Departmental Computers and Administrative Equipment Subcommittee at the University of California, Berkeley.

Copyright 1999 by the Regents of the University of California.
Disclaimer: The University assumes no liability if the information on this page is used for other than University purposes.