Y2K - The cost-effective solution to tackling "The Millennium bug"

Notes for users of SimTel.Net and other software archives

Y2K is a shareware utility which tests your PC for millennium-
compliance. It may be freely distributed on the condition that
it is accompanied by the documentation files contained in this
archive. In the event of any questions or problems, see the 
"Any other questions" section at the end of this document.

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Features of Y2K

* Free download, costs nothing to test your PC for compliance
* Tests century rollover and leap year compliance in both BIOS
  and O/S Clocks
* Checks and corrects Windows date settings
* No technical knowledge required
* Registered version provides automatic install to fix the
  problem, where necessary
* Optional automatic un-install when no longer required
* Single-PC license registration costs only 10 (Pounds Sterling),
  around $17 (US dollars)
* Corporate license for unlimited usage costs only 100
  (Pounds Sterling), around $165 (US dollars)
* Secure on-line registration, fix your PC in less than a minute 
* U.K. and U.S. residents can pay for registration by banker's
  cheque, if preferred.

What is the Millennium Bug ?

The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) program in your PC very likely
has a mistake in it which means that, at midnight on 31st December
1999, the date on your machine will be set back to 1st January
1900. When the computer is next switched on, DOS (or Windows 95)
will object, and set it forward to 4th January 1980, the earliest
date which it can cope with. The following day, if the date hasn't
been corrected, the BIOS will think that it's 2nd January 1900
but DOS (or Windows) will once more object and set the date forward
to 4th January 1980 again. This cycle will potentially repeat,
unless the problem is addressed, for the next 80 years or so.

Will it affect me ?

Hardly anyone was aware of the impending problem prior to 1996,
so any PC bought earlier than that is very likely to be affected.
There are a lot of PCs around whose BIOS will fail, as even
machines bought since then may have been built with motherboards
that had been sitting in a warehouse for anything up to a year,
therefore no machine is definitely safe unless certified by the
manufacturer. There are lots of utilities available, some for
which you'll pay a small fortune, which will tell you if your
system has a modern BIOS chip that eliminates the problem. If it
doesn't, the popular recommendation is to replace the BIOS chips
or upgrade your motherboard. However this can be expensive and
far more complicated than it sounds.

What's the answer ?

Well, it's called Y2K - that's jargon for Year 2000 - and it
won't break the bank. Y2K can test the BIOS of your PC to see if
it's compliant and, if you decide to purchase a license, will
automatically install itself as a patch program to overcome the
problem if necessary. The testing process also checks to see if
your BIOS recognises that 2000 is actually a leap year. Once
installed, it checks the date whenever your computer is switched
on, and if it finds that suddenly it's 1980 then it corrects the
date to 2000 and carries on. Of course, not many people will
actually be using their PC on 1/1/2000 - most of us will probably
still be hung over from the night before - so it will correct the
date for any day in 2000, as appropriate. If you happen to install
Y2K on a computer that is millennium-compliant, the date will
never reach January 1980 and so the program will never have to do
anything, but at least this way you haven't got to worry about
finding out one way or another.

Why should I believe you ?

Cynics might believe that a utility like Y2K would report all PCs
as non-compliant in an effort to encourage license registrations,
but this is not the case. We get more business through
recommendations from satisfied customers than falsifying
compliance reports could ever achieve. As Y2K takes less than a
minute to download, why not give it a try? You may be pleasantly
surprised.

What does it cost ?

Y2K can be downloaded and used to test your PC for free. If it
finds that your BIOS is compliant, then it will have cost you
nothing. If Y2K happens to notice that your Windows date settings
need adjusting, it will optionally do this for you, again free of
charge. If there is a problem with your BIOS, you can purchase a
license through our web site at http://www.harlend.com/y2k which 
enables you to install Y2K as a patch to correct the problem. 
A license to use Y2K on a single PC costs just 10 (Pounds 
Sterling), or just under $17 (US Dollars) depending on exchange 
rates. You will need to purchase a separate license for each PC 
on which you need to install it. A multi-station corporate license 
is also available for 100 (around $165), which entitles you to 
install and use Y2K on an unlimited number of PCs within your 
company/corporation.

Where's the catch ?

Sounds too easy, huh? Well, it really is. The catch is that, if
your PC is not compliant, Y2K will encourage you to purchase a
license so that you can fix the problem, but you are under no
obligation to do so. I must emphasize that this doesn't help with
old applications that don't recognise the 21st century or can't
cope with dates containing 4 year digits, that's a different can
of worms altogether, but this will at least get around the BIOS
century rollover and leapyear-recognition bugs.

Where do I get it ?

To can download Y2K from our web site at http://www.harlend.com/y2k. 
On a typical 28.8k connection the download will take around 15 
seconds. You will not be required to provide any details about 
yourself in order to try it out.

How do I register my copy ?

If you've already downloaded Y2K and would like to register your
copy by purchasing a license, take a look at the enclosed document
REGISTER.TXT. When you place an order for Y2K through our secure 
website at http://www.harlend.com/y2k, your credit card details are 
processed interactively and a serial number is generated immediately 
so that you can start using it in less than a minute. Alternatively, 
you can fill out the order form, print it out & fax it across to us 
for a 24 hour turn-around. We can also accept cheques from U.S.
and U.K. residents - see the order form for details of where to
send them. Payment can be made directly through the web site by
Visa or Mastercard, or if you prefer by wire transfer directly
from your bank.

How does it work ?

When you run Y2K it performs a test and reports whether your BIOS
is compliant or not - if not, it will recommend that you install
Y2K fully. Some so-called "experts" in this field suggest that
there are two or even three clocks in a PC that should be tested,
but in fact only the BIOS clock is afflicted by this bug, and
anyone who tells you otherwise does not have a complete technical
understanding of the problem. For a more detailed explanation of
why this is true, and answers to other common queries, click here
to visit our "Frequently Asked Questions" page.

Any other questions ?

If you have any further questions, please take a look at our
"Frequently Asked Questions" page (FAQ.TXT) before you resort to
sending an email. It's not that we don't want to here from you, 
but the FAQ deals with:

* Which Operating Systems does Y2K work under ?
* I've downloaded Y2K, now how do I run it ?
* How do I install it ?
* I've installed Y2K, but it still reports that my machine is
  non-compliant
* I've installed Y2K, but another program reports that my machine
  is still non-compliant
* How will Y2K affect my Novell Netware workstation ?
* Which clocks does Y2K test - a technical explanation

If all else fails, send an email to y2k_support@harlend.com

Good luck.

Keith Trangmar
Harlend Computer Services
