Troubleshooting Your PC
How to avoid a blank stare from your computer next New Year's
(January 1999) To help you make sure your
PC is ready for the year 2000, the National
Software Testing Laboratories is giving away free testing
software that can check your system for you. The downloadable software
will provide you with a comprehensive report on the Y2K-readiness of your
computer. It works only on PCs, but if you own a Mac, don't worry -- it's
already prepared for the next century.
If you want to know more about how your software or hardware will react to
Y2K, consult the links below. Most manufacturers have set up web sites to
keep consumers informed about the Y2K-readiness of their products.
Microsoft
Gates and Co. have created an enormous site in response to the coming Y2K
crisis -- it even includes its own newsgroup. It also includes a searchable
product database, which is helpful if you know exactly what you're looking
for; the
Windows 95 listing is especially interesting. If you want to make
yourself nervous, take a look at Microsoft's Y2K Frequently
Asked Questions, which includes an entry on the PC's "main
points of exposure" to Year 2000 problems.
Dell An excellent site. Type in your
"system service tag number" and you'll get a step-by-step guide to
checking Y2K functionality on your computer. Dell's site also includes
software tools and patches and a general overview of the Y2K problem.
IBM
IBM's Y2K site is massive and a little difficult to navigate, but most IBM
PC owners will find what they're looking for in the hardware section. Bottom line:
If you bought your PC in 1996 or after, you're in good shape.
Compaq The
Compaq site has information for both Compaq products and those carrying the
Digital brand -- the two companies merged last year. Compaq machines
purchased prior to October 7, 1997, may require extra software to function
correctly in 2000. Visit the site for more details.
Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard's site provides a searchable database
containing
some limited Y2K information for each of its products. For businesses, the
company provides an integrated Year 2000 upgrade program called Cure2000.
UNISYS
A utilitarian site that boils down to a list of model numbers with the
words "yes" and "no" next to them. If you own a Unisys PC, it's a start.
Gateway All Gateway PCs based on
Pentium processors are Y2K-compliant. This should be a relief to most
Gateway owners, but if your machine is based on an older Intel chip such as
the 486, and if you bought it before January 1, 1997, you'll need to
consult Gateway's site for instructions on how to make it into the new
year.
Apple The good news: "The Mac OS and most Mac applications can handle
internally generated dates correctly all the way to the year 29,940." The
bad news: Some Mac applications can't. If you use Apple's consumer software
on a regular basis, click here to
make sure it's ready for the millennium.
Packard
Bell Most Packard Bell computers are fully Y2K-compliant,
but a small minority -- a fraction of Packard Bell's 486-based machines --
are not. Packard Bell has created testing software to evaluate its
machines, which you can download here.
