UC Berkeley Year 2000 Information Departmental and Personal Computers: Find and Resolve Y2K Problems
Home | Overview | Readiness Checklists | Computer Advisories | Software Tools | Specific Issues | Recharge Services | Peer Help | Search | Site Map | UCB Y2K Home

This page was last updated early during the year 2000 and some or all of its content may thus no longer be current or accurate.

PCs Running Windows 95: 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 95 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.
Operating System Go As of June 2, 1999, Microsoft maintains that Windows 95 has eleven minor Y2K "issues," Microsoft also asserts that all of these issues can be resolved by installing a no-cost update, the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update, which is currently available for downloading from Microsoft's Web site.
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 95.

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 95 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 95.

Over time, Microsoft has made revisions to its Y2K compliance statements for Windows 95 and many other 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 95 Go. By doing so, you can keep up-to-date regarding any newly-identified problems and fixes.

Multiple versions and releases of Windows 95: all the same when it comes to Y2K!

One potential source of confusion when searching for Microsoft's Y2K Product Summaries for Windows 95 is that this operating system was issued in at least five variations. These include the original Windows 95 retail product, the original Windows 95 upgraded with a set of bug fixes and updates known as Service Pack 1 Go, and a set of subsequent Windows 95 releases exclusively for use by PC manufacturers (such as Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Toshiba), who installed these at the factory on their PCs' hard disks. These PC manufacturer (also known as original equipment manufacturer, or "OEM") flavors of Windows 95 are identified by their OEM Service Release (or "OSR") numbers: OSR 1, 2, 2.1, and 2.5.

As a result, Microsoft's Web site offers a large number of Y2K Product Summaries for each of these individual variations of Windows 95. However, as far as we've been able to determine, there are no significant differences with respect to Y2K compliance status between the various versions, Service Releases, and OEM Service Releases of Windows 95. At most, Microsoft's Windows 95 Year 2000 Update may update slightly different sets of components under each of these individual variations of Windows 95.

To identify which version of Windows 95 you're running, you can follow the instructions provided in the Microsoft Support Online article How to Determine the Version of Windows 95 in Use Go:

  1. From the Start menu, select Settings->Control Panel.

  2. Open System.

  3. In the System Properties window, click the "General" folder tab.

To determine which updates have subsequently been applied to your copy of Windows 95, the Microsoft Support Online article Implementing Windows 95 Updates Go describes how you can use the Windows 95 Update Information Tool, QFECHECK.EXE, that "is installed with each Windows 95 update," for this purpose.

 Another way to find the Microsoft's Y2K compliance statement for Windows 95

If the direct link to the Y2K Product Summaries for Windows 95 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 the name "Windows 95". Then click the "Perform Search" button. This will generate a list of compliance statements for various releases and language versions of Windows 95.

More Information

For a summary of Windows 95 versions and Service Releases, see "AXCEL216"'s (the author's America Online screen name) Windows 95 | OSR1 | OSR2 | 98 Complete Specs, Features + Upgrades Go page.

[ ] 2.2. (Optional) Install Microsoft's Year 2000 Update to fix Windows 95's minor Y2K issues.

The following instructions were current as of June 2, 1999. If Microsoft should subsequently release a revised Y2K compliance statement for Windows 95, 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.

In April 1999, Microsoft publicly identified an assortment of eleven minor Y2K issues in Windows 95. These issues are detailed in Microsoft's announcement Windows 95 Year 2000 Update README File Go.

These issues are minor, so it may not be imperative that they be corrected, at least on some UC Berkeley campus PCs. Nontheless, we suggest that you consider resolving them on all of your PCs which are likely to be affected by at least one of these issues. And it is entirely reasonable to consider correcting these problems 'across the board' by updating Windows 95 on all of your department's PCs.

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
and
Simplify your life with the UCBackup service Go.

Microsoft provides a no-cost fix for these minor Y2K issues in the form of the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update. You can obtain this Update in two ways:

  • By obtaining a no-cost CD from Microsoft.

    The Windows 95 Year 2000 Update is included on Microsoft's Year 2000 Resource Center CD.

    You can order the no-cost Year 2000 Resource Center CD, which includes software updates, analysis tools, and a Y2K compliance database for Microsoft's products, by calling Microsoft at 1-888-673-8925 (1-888-MSFT-Y2K) or by completing a Web-based form Go

    (If for some reason the link above doesn't work, you should also be able to access this Web-base form via a link on Microsoft's TechNet - Year 2000 Go page.)

  • By downloading the Update over an Internet connection.

    Microsoft offers this Update from its Windows 95 Year 2000 Update Go page.
Rolling out the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update on large numbers of PCs

If you will be installing this Update on a large number of PCs, you might look into Microsoft's Windows 95 Corporate Update package Go, a companion package to the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update, which Microsoft claims:

addresses deployment and maintenance issues, insuring greater ease of administration ... [and] also contains the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3/Winsock 2.0 Y2K Update.
Remaining Y2K issues in Windows 95
Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine

If you run programs written in the Java programming language that use certain date-related capabilities, you might need to separately update your Microsoft Virtual Machine ["VM"] to address some minor date-related issues.

(The Microsoft VM is software that allows you to run Java programs on a Windows PC. These programs typically run as "applets" in a Web browser window, but you may also encounter them in other formats, such as standalone application programs or "servlets" that add functionality to a Web server.)

If you perform critical, date-related tasks using Java programs, we suggest that you first install the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update, then check the version number of your Microsoft VM and look up its Y2K compliance status. Microsoft's Y2K Product Summary for the Microsoft Virtual Machine Go describes how to do so in the section "How can users determine what version of the Microsoft VM they are using?"

If your version of the Microsoft VM is not Y2K compliant, you can download and install an updated, Y2K compliant VM by installing Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 2.

Other ways to obtain recent Microsoft VMs include downloading it from Microsoft's Download the Microsoft Virtual Machine Go page, installing version 5.0 or higher of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser, or downloading the latest software development kits (intended for programmers, but which include the latest VMs) from Microsoft Technologies for Java Go Web page.

[ ] 2.3. (Optional) Resolve minor Y2K issues in earlier versions of Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer.

The following instructions were current as of June 2, 1999. If Microsoft should subsequently release a revised Y2K compliance statement for Windows 95 and/or Internet Explorer, 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.

If you are using a version of Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer, which is earlier than version 4.01 Service Pack 2 (SP2), your browser program is likely to have some minor Y2K issues. To find out what version of this program is installed on a PC, select "About Internet Explorer" from the program's "Help" menu.

Specifically, if you are using version 3.0x or a previous version 4.0x release of Internet Explorer, and you wish to resolve these Y2K issues, you can either:

  • Install Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 2

    or

  • Install Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.

In April 1999, Microsoft publicly identified several minor Y2K issues in Internet Explorer versions 4.0x and 3.0x. These issues are enumerated in Microsoft's announcement Windows 95 Year 2000 Update README File Go, in section "V. Updating Microsoft Internet Explorer."

These issues are minor, so it may not be imperative that they be corrected, at least on some UC Berkeley campus PCs. Nontheless, we suggest that you consider resolving them on all of your PCs which are likely to be affected by at least one of these issues. And it is entirely reasonable to consider correcting these problems 'across the board' by updating your earlier versions of Internet Explorer on all of your department's PCs.

You can download the Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 2 installer from Microsoft's Web page:

Internet Explorer 4.01 SP2 for Windows 95, Windows 98 or NT 4.0 Go

This installer is very large, and Microsoft suggests that downloading it over a dial-up modem connection can take about two hours.

You'll need to perform a default or full installation of Service Pack 2, rather than a "Browser Only" installation. As Microsoft points out:

The "Browser Only Installation" will install only a subset of the entire Internet Explorer Service Pack and will not update your system for [...] year 2000 issues. You should choose either the default Installation Option of "Standard Installation" or choose "Full Installation" to ensure that all updated files and Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 2 components are installed on your system.

[ ] 2.4. (Optional) Update a single file that can't be replaced by the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update if Microsoft Dial Up Networking 1.3 or Winsock 2.0 is already installed.

The following instructions were current as of June 2, 1999. If Microsoft should subsequently release a revised Y2K compliance statement for Windows 95, Dial Up Networking, or Winsock, 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.

If Microsoft Dial Up Networking 1.3 or Winsock (Windows Sockets) 2.0 are already installed on a PC, running the Windows 95 Year 2000 Update will fail to update the VDHCP.386 file. As a result, the Update will fail to correct a minor problem in Windows 95 affecting limited-time "leases" of dynamically-obtained Internet (IP) addresses, described by Microsoft as:

Winipcfg/all - IP Leases obtained on or after 3/01/2000 are reported as having been obtained the previous day. The system date is displayed correctly but the DHCP client reports an incorrect date.
Is this problem relevant to your Windows 95 PC?

Microsoft's Windows 95 Y2K Product Summary suggests that you can:

... determine if you have either Dial Up Networking or Winsock installed [by checking] Control Panel/ Add/Remove Programs. If the update has been installed, they will be on the list of installed products.

If you have either or both of these programs installed, you can download a separate installer which specifically updates the VDHCP.386 file, thus resolving this minor IP address lease problem, from Microsoft's Web page:

Dial Up Networking 1.3/Winsock 2 Year 2000 Update Go

[ ] 2.5. (Optional, but recommended) Change Microsoft Windows 95'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 95's default short date style:

  1. From the Start menu, select Settings->Control Panel.

  2. Open Regional Settings.

  3. Click the Date folder tab near the top of the Regional Settings Properties window.

    Date tab in Regional Settings control panel

  4. In the "Short date" section of this window, select or type a short date style which uses four digits to represent the year.

    For example, if your department and/or those with whom you exchange data have standardized on the style "MM/dd/yyyy", which would represent May 13, 2029 as "05/13/2029", you can instruct Windows to use this style by:

    • Selecting the option MM/dd/yyyy from the pull-down menu to the right of the "Short date style" field;

      or

    • Typing MM/dd/yyyy directly into that field.


    Changing short date style to mm/dd/yyyy

  5. 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

New four-digit-year short date style doesn't "stick"?

Have difficulty getting your new, four-digit-year short date style to persist after you restart or power cycle your PC?

This could be because User Profiles have been enabled. If so, you'll need to log in as the Windows 95 default user, then enable a particular User Profiles option in the Passwords control panel. A description of how to do so appears in Microsoft's Support Online article Regional Settings Specified in User Profile Are Not Applied Go.

[ ] 2.6. (Optional) Update the OLE Automation Libraries, if necessary.

A potential problem in Windows 95, NT 3.5.1, and later versions of Microsoft Windows is that certain Windows Service Packs and application programs install different versions of the files associated with the OLE Automation Libraries. These Automation Libraries tell the Windows operating system and many application programs how to interpret century-ambiguous dates with two-digit years, such as "05/13/29", as either May 13, 1929 or May 13, 2029.

As described in The Windows Automation Libraries Determine How Dates Entered With Two-Digit Years Are Handled Go the date-handling behavior of these libraries has changed three times over the years. If you install a program that overwrites your current Automation Libraries files with a different version of these files, the way that Windows and many of your application programs interpret two-digit dates might suddenly change.

Of particular concern, versions of the Automation Libraries prior to 2.20.00.4054 will always interpret two-digit dates from "00" through "99" as falling within the period from "1900" to "1999", which will probably not be desirable when the year 2000 arrives. For this reason, you might want to check to make sure that you're using version 2.20.00.4054 or higher.

Microsoft's White Paper
The Automation Libraries and the Year 2000 Go, describes how to check your version of the OLE Automation Libraries:

Click the Start button, select the Find menu item, and click on "Files or Folders..." In the "Name & Location" tab, type (without quotes) "oleaut32.dll" in the field titled "Named." Select the drive in the "Look in" field that your operating system lives on (usually (C:) ). Click "Find Now." When the file shows up in the box below, right click on the file and select "Properties." Click the right hand tab that says "Version."

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.

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

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:

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.

[ ] 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?


Find something unclear? Missing? Incomplete? Inaccurate? Or even praiseworthy? Send us feedback about this Web site!

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.