Microsoft Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure & Resource Center

Product Summary

Product: Windows NT Server Version: 4.0 SP4 Category: Compliant* Operating System: Win NT Language: Hebrew Release Date: 29 Jul 1996 Operational Range: 01 Jan 1996 - 31 Dec 2036 Prerequisites: See below Product Dependencies: None Clock Dependencies: System Clock Last Updated: 30 Sep 1999

Product Details

Product Maintenance: While Microsoft continues to recommend that customers install the most current Service Pack/Release for non-Year 2000 reasons, we understand that, for many reasons, this may not be possible. In order to aid our customers' Year 2000 efforts, Microsoft intends to maintain Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 4 as compliant through January 1, 2001. Newer Service Packs are also to be maintained as compliant, and may include additional non-Year 2000 updates. This is intended to minimize the Year 2000 as a reason to upgrade. [This information applies to both Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 4 and Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 4, Enterprise Edition.] Updated Information A new issue has been discovered in versions of Outlook Express installed by Internet Explorer 4. Users of Outlook express should consult the Internet Explorer Product Guide for details. Through our ongoing testing, Microsoft has identified six issues that are addressed by post-Service Pack 4 (SP4) updates. Microsoft recommends that users evaluate the post-SP4 Year 2000 software updates and consider deploying them based on their exposure to each issue. The issues are detailed in Step 2 below. A year 2000 issue has been discovered in the Jet 3.5 data engine. Microsoft has provided a software update to address this issue. Consult the MDAC product guide for details. Microsoft recently announced the release of Service Pack 5 for Windows NT 4. Service Pack 5 is not required for Year 2000 compliance. Service Pack 5 may provide a more simple Year 2000 remediation process for some customers. Customers should consult the Windows NT 4 SP5 compliance document in the Year 2000 product guide (HERE) for details. Introduction Windows NT 4.0 has had a number of service packs since its release. To reach a compliant state with Windows NT 4.0, Service Pack 4 plus additional Year 2000 software updates must be installed. Additionally, Microsoft intends to maintain the compliance of Service Pack 4 through January 1, 2001, in addition to any subsequent service packs. When users load the Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system on a computer they are asked to select from many installation options. In addition, Microsoft has made additional Windows NT Server 4.0 features available to licensed users via Service Packs, the Windows NT Option Pack and the Windows NT Web site. Because users may have selected a variety of options and installed additional features on a given system, all options and features must be considered when assessing the systemÆs Year 2000 readiness status. Microsoft has determined that Windows NT Server 4.0 (including some installation options) and some versions of additional Windows NT Server 4.0 features have known Year 2000 issues, requiring updates. In order to update these known Year 2000 issues, users must first determine the set of options and features that they have installed on a given system (the "Target System") and follow the three-step procedure described below. In some cases the Year 2000 issue can be addressed by users applying updates. In other cases, users are instructed to update a feature to a newer version of the feature to address known issues. The steps identified below take a comprehensive approach to correcting known issues. Step 1 prepares the target system for SP4 by addressing any updates that are needed before SP4 is applied. Step 2 installs SP4 and the post-SP4 Y2K Update to analyze the target system, remove versions which have known issues, and install versions that have no known issues. Step 3 then audits the target system. To confirm all known issues have been corrected and steps 1 and 2 have been done correctly, the results of the audit should indicate that only those versions having a "compliant" rating (as identified on the tables below) remain on the target system after Steps 1 and 2 have been completed. Important Preliminary Notes: In order to simplify the upgrade process and provide more flexibility to customers, the Y2KSETUP.EXE composite patch has been removed from the recommended upgrade path. Y2KSETUP.EXE was used to install IE4.01 SP1, MDAC 2.0 SP1, and Site Server Express 3.0. We now recommend that customers install these components individually. See Note 8 for additional details. Users that have both Microsoft Message Queue Service Version 1.0 and Site Server Express Version 2.0 installed on their Windows NT Server 4.0 machines should review the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q197533 before proceeding: Step 1 Microsoft has created Service Pack 4 (SP4) to help users address the majority of Year 2000 compliance issues with their Windows NT Server installations in a simple and automated fashion. SP4 itself will address most known Year 2000 issues. However, users must update or upgrade certain features to newer versions, in addition to applying SP4. Table 1A (below) lists the Windows NT Server 4.0 features that must be updated or upgraded in addition to applying SP4, along with specific update/upgrade instructions. Table 1B (below) lists the Windows NT Server 4.0 Optional features that must be updated or upgraded only if previous versions exist on the machine. Note that these updates and upgrades can be performed either before or after applying SP4 (which is outlined in Step 2). Table 1A: System Components. Feature Name Version Action Required Prior to Step 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) Multiple Versions Upgrade to IE4.01 SP2 or newer including any applicable Year 2000 software Updates. For information on additional Year 2000 Updates for IE, refer HERE. Go Here for IE Downloads. (Users who prefer to remain on IE 4.01 SP1 should refer to the IE Year 2000 Compliance document available HERE for appropriate actions. Additional software updates are required in addition to SP1.) Users who wish to install IE 4.01 SP2 or IE 5 Technology without adding IE icons and without making IE the default browser should consult KB article Q224088. Table 1B: Optional Components. Feature Name Version Action Required Prior to Step 2 Active Directory Services Interface 1.0 Install ADSI 2.0 or newer Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Multiple Versions Install MDAC 2.1 SP1 or newer including any applicable Year 2000 software Updates. For information on additional Year 2000 Updates for MDAC, refer HERE. Go Here for MDAC Downloads (Users who prefer to remain on MDAC 2.0 SP1 should refer to the MDAC Year 2000 Compliance document available HERE for appropriate actions.) A year 2000 update for the Jet3.5 engine has recently been released. (April 1999) Consult the MDAC product guide for details. (MDAC 2.0 SP1 is installed by Y2KSETUP.EXE, see Note 7) Microsoft FrontPage 97 "97" Install FrontPage 97 Year 2000 Updates Microsoft FrontPage 97 Server Extensions "97" Install FrontPage 98 Server Extensions from the Server Extensions Download Section. . Microsoft Internet Locator Service 1.0 Install Microsoft Internet Locator Service Version 2.0 Site Server Express 2.0 Uninstall Site Server Express 2.0 and install Site Server Express 3.0. Refer HERE. (Site Server Express 3.0 is installed by Y2KSETUP.EXE, see Note 8) Microsoft Transaction Server 1.0 Install Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0 from the Windows NT Option Pack Microsoft Transaction Server 1.1 Install Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0 from the Windows NT Option Pack   Step 2 Apply SP4 to the Target System. SP4 can be obtained at: http://support.microsoft.com/Support/NTServer/Content/ServicePacks/Default.asp The installation of SP4 applies updates to the base Windows NT Server 4.0 product including the installation options. Applying SP4 also updates certain Windows NT Server 4.0 features. Microsoft previously recommended that customers also run Y2KSETUP.EXE. to address the following components: Microsoft Data Access Components, Site Server Express, Microsoft Internet Explorer. These areas are now addressed in step 1. Refer to Note 8 for additional details. Users should also apply any Windows NT Year 2000 (Y2K) Updates that have been made available post-SP4. The current post-SP4 Y2K updates are listed below. Current post-SP4 Updates and their respective Knowledge Base (KB) Articles address the following known Year 2000 issues: Click HERE for the catalog of currently available post-SP4 Year 2000 Updates. (Additional information about these issues can be obtained at http://support.microsoft.com/support/) 1. BIOS Date Value does not Immediately Update on January 1, 2000. (Q216913) When the Window NT System Time value rolls over from the year æ1999Æ to æ2000Æ, the Century Byte value stored in the real time clock (RTC) is not changed until up to one hour later when the time daemon writes out the date. Customers should evaluate their exposure to this issue to determine whether to apply this update. This issue only affects systems with older BIOSes that do not automatically update the century byte on reboot(Contact your hardware manufacturer for BIOS details). 2. MFC40.dll Causes Programs to Display Wrong Date after 01/01/2000. (Q218877) An internal function within Mfc40.dll(ColeDateTime) is designed to add 1900 to every 2-digit date that is passed to it. For example, 99 is returned as 1999. If more than 2 digits are passed, nothing is added. Programs that use this function may incorrectly parse a date after the year 2000 (for example, January 1, 2000, may become January 1, 100). This problem has been observed with the following applications: Microsoft System Information (Msinfo32.exe). 3. MSMQ Err: Error While Creating MSMQ Internal Certificate. Error: 0x8000ffff (Q230050) When you click Renew Internal Certificate in the Microsoft Message Queue Control Panel utility on February 29 of a leap year (for example 2000, 2004, 2008, and so on), you receive the following error message: Error while creating MSMQ internal certificate. Error: 0x8000ffff. 4. Dates may display improperly using the Configuration Back-up option from the IIS 4.0 HTML Administrator. (Q230335) When using the Configuration Back-up option from the HTML version of the IIS 4.0 Internet Server Manager it is possible that the date displayed for the stored configuration may display the current date improperly if the configuration was stored on or after 1/1/2000. 5. NNTP Service Converts Two-Digit Years Incorrectly (Q238020) When a messaging client application attempts to post a message to an News Network Transfer Protocol (NNTP) server using a 2 digit year, the fact that the two-digit year is converted incorrectly may cause an error message to be displayed. Microsoft is not aware of any messaging clients that post messages using 2 digit dates. The NNTP server was shipped with Internet Information Server as part of the Windows NT Option Pack and with MCIS 2.0. 6. NET USER /TIME Command does not work in Year 2000 (Q240195) The /TIMES function can be used to set the valid logon times of Windows NT user accounts via the command line utility NET USER. The Y2K issue causes the /TIMES function to cease functioning in years 2000 or greater. The User Manager GUI application is not affected and can be used to effectively set account valid logon times in the year 2000 and beyond.       Step 3: Overview: The final step of the process is to audit the target system to verify that Step 1 and Step 2 have been performed correctly. Create a list of the Windows NT Server 4.0 installation options and additional features installed on the target system Review the compliance status of the installation options and features using Tables 2 & 3. Confirm that only installation options and features having a "compliant" rating (as identified on the tables below) remain on the target system after Steps 1 and 2 have been completed. Detail: When users load the Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system on a computer they are asked to select from many installation options. These options are listed in Table 2 (below). The known Year 2000 issues with Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system itself and each of the options listed in Table 2 below should be updated after applying SP4. Table 2 Option/Server Name Compliance Rating DHCP Relay Agent Compliant DLC Protocol Compliant Gateway Services for NetWare Compliant Microsoft DHCP Server Compliant Microsoft DNS Server Compliant Microsoft TCP/IP Printing Compliant NetBEUI Protocol Compliant NetBIOS Interface Compliant Network Monitor Agent Compliant Network Monitor Tools and Agent Compliant NWLink IPX/SPX-Compatible Transport Compliant Point To Point Tunneling Protocol Compliant Remote Access Service Compliant Remote Boot Service Compliant RIP for Internet Protocol Compliant RIP for NWLink IPX/SPX-Compatible Transport Compliant RPC Configuration Compliant RPC Configuration Compliant RPC Support for Banyan Compliant SAP Agent Compliant Server Compliant Services for Macintosh Compliant Simple TCP/IP Services Compliant SNMP Service Compliant Streams Environment Compliant TCP/IP Protocol Compliant Windows Internet Name Service Compliant Windows Messenger Service Compliant Workstation Compliant   In addition to the selectable options offered during installation of the Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system, there are additional features of the Windows NT Server 4.0 product that may be installed on the Target System. These features have been made available by Microsoft via Service Packs, the Windows NT Option Pack and the Windows NT Server Web site. Table 3 (below) lists the additional features (and their versions) that Microsoft has made available to licensed users of the Windows NT Server 4.0 product since its original release. Use this table to verify the compliance of each Windows NT Server 4.0 feature installed on the Target System.   Table 3 Feature Name Version Feature Compliance Rating Notes Active Directory Services Interface 1.0 Not Tested See Note 2 Active Directory Services Interface 2.0 Compliant Active Directory Services Interface 2.5 Compliant Certificate Server 1.0 Compliant See Note 4 Distributed File Service 4.0 Compliant Distributed File Service 4.1 Compliant Imaging for Windows Not Applicable Compliant Applies to all Versions that run on Windows NT Server 4.0 Index Server 1.0 Compliant Index Server 1.1 Compliant Index Server 2.0 Compliant Internet Connection Services for Microsoft Remote Access Service 1.0 Compliant Microsoft Cluster Services 1.0 Compliant Microsoft Data Access Components(MDAC) Multiple Versions See Notes for required action Some versions of MDAC are not compliant. To make MDAC compliant, please review the MDAC Year 2000 Compliance document (click HERE) for latest information on year 2000 issues and updates for MDAC. Microsoft Euro Currency Support for Windows NT 4.0 Not Applicable Compliant Microsoft Front Page 1.0 Not Compliant See Note 2 Microsoft Front Page 1.1 Not Compliant See Note 2 Microsoft FrontPage 97 "97" Not Compliant See Note 2 Microsoft FrontPage 97 Server Extensions "97" Not Compliant See Note 2 Microsoft FrontPage 97 "97" with Updates Compliant To determine that Microsoft Front Page 97 updates are installed, verify the version number of the file named: "(system directory)\system32\fp20tl.dll" is at least02.00.3002.23. See note 7 for instructions on verifying version numbers of .DLL files. Microsoft FrontPage 98 Server Extensions "98" Compliant Microsoft Internet Explorer Multiple Versions See Notes for required action Consult the Year 2000 Product Guide for Details Microsoft Internet Information Server 2.0 Compliant Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 Compliant Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 Compliant An additional issue has been identified for IIS4.0. Consult Step 2 of this document for details. Microsoft Internet Locator Service 1.0 Not Compliant See Note 2 Microsoft Internet Locator Service 2.0 Compliant Microsoft Management Console 1.0 Compliant Microsoft Management Console 1.1 Compliant Microsoft Message Queue Server 1.0 Compliant Updated in Step 2. Consult the following KB for required updates to MSMQ: Q230050 Microsoft Message Queue Server 1.0E Compliant Updated in Step 2. Consult the following KB for required updates to MSMQ: Q230050 Microsoft Transaction Server 1.0 Not Tested See Note 2 Microsoft Transaction Server 1.1 Not Tested See Note 2 Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0 Compliant Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0 SP Compliant Microsoft Virtual Machine (Many Versions) See Notes for Required Action Some versions of the Microsoft Virtual Machine, including the versions that shipped with SP4 and with some versions of Internet Explorer, have Year 2000 date-related issues. Please refer to the Microsoft VM year 2000 Product Guide at Microsoft Virtual Machine for details and recommendations to address known issues. NetShow Services 1.0 Not Tested See Note 3 NetShow Services 3.0 Compliant Routing and Remote Access Services 4.0 Compliant Site Server Express 2.0 Not Compliant See Note 2 Site Server Express 3.0 Compliant See Note 5 TAPI SDK 2.1 Compliant Web Administrator for Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 2.0 Compliant Windows Management Interface (WMI) 1.0 Compliant Windows Load Balancing Service 2.2 Compliant Windows Media Player 6.0 Compliant To verify that Windows Media Player 6.0 is installed, users should select "Help/About Windows Media Player" from within Windows Media Player and verify that the version number is 5.01.52.0701 or greater. Windows Scripting Host 1.0 Compliant Zero Administration Kit for Windows NT 4.0 Not Applicable Compliant See Note 6 Zero Administration Kit for Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Not Applicable Compliant See Note 6   Conclusion: If all of the Windows NT Server 4.0 features that remain on the system after performing Step 1 and Step 2 are listed as "Compliant" in the table below, Steps 1 and 2 were conducted correctly and the copy of Windows NT Server 4.0 on the Target System should have no known Year 2000 issues. If a feature with a "Not Compliant" rating remains on the Target System, the most likely cause is a failure to perform both Step 1 and Step 2 to completion. In this case, please review/retry those steps and associated actions.   Notes: To determine which versions of FrontPage Server Extensions are actively in use on a system, run the FrontPage Server Administrator (Fpsrvwin.exe). Click on each of the Web servers or virtual servers (listed in the box in the upper left area) that have been configured with the FrontPage Server Extensions. The version number of the FrontPage Server Extension is displayed to the right of the list. Version numbers where the first digit is "3" or greater resolve known Year 2000 issues (e.g. 3.0.2.1706). If the first digit of the version number is "1" or "2", users should install an updated version of the FrontPage Server Extensions. Refer to http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage for more details. This Not Compliant version of this feature should only be present if the procedures outlined in Step 1 have not been performed correctly. This Not Tested or Not Compliant version of this feature should only be present if the procedures outlined in Step 2 have not been performed correctly. Certificate Server Version 1.0 cannot be installed on 2/29/2000. There is no Content Analyzer feature in Site Server Express 3.0. An updated Content Analyzer is available from the Windows NT Server Service Pack 4 Download page. http://www.microsoft.com/support/winnt/default.htm. Click on Begin the Download Process, Select Encryption Level, and Accept the License agreement. The following page allows the user to download the updated Content Analyzer. The Compliant ratings for Zero Administration Kits (ZAK kit) are based on being used with Compliant versions of the software configured for installation by the ZAK kit. To verify the version number of a dynamic link library (DLL) file, users should: Start Windows NT Explorer from the Start/Programs menu Locate the DLL file to be verified Select the file by pointing the mouse cursor at the file clicking the left mouse button once Click the right mouse button once to display a menu Select "Properties" from the menu by pointing the mouse cursor at the option and clicking the left mouse button once Select the "Version" tab by pointing the mouse cursor at the tab and clicking the left mouse button once Visually Locate the version number in the field labeled "File Version" 8. Y2KSETUP.EXE has been removed from the recommended remediation path. Y2KSETUP.EXE was used to update Windows NT components to the following versions: Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 Microsoft Data Access Components 2.0 SP1 Site Server Express 3.0 Customers who already applied Y2KSETUP.EXE should evaluate their systems based on having the versions above. Additional remediation is required for IE 4.01 SP1. See Table 3 for details. Microsoft as chosen to remove Y2KSETUP.EXE from the recommended remediation path for the following reasons: Feedback from customers indicated that more flexibility was desired regarding how and when each component was upgraded Additional remediation was required for IE4.01 SP1 in order to achieve the compliance. This was confusing for customers. Note: Users that have both Microsoft Message Queue Service Version 1.0 and Site Server Express Version 2.0 installed on their Windows NT Server 4.0 machines should review the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q197533 before running Y2KSETUP.EXE: Appendix: For convenience, the Table 4 (below) lists features and products that Microsoft has made available on the Windows NT Server web site that Microsoft does not consider to be part of the Window NT Server 4.0 product for Year 2000 compliance purposes. Table 4 Feature/Product Name Notes ADSI Implemented in Java Available only in Beta test versions Client 32 support for NetWare This is a Novell product; consult Novell for compliance information Dial-Up Networking Access Service Performance and Security Upgrade Applies only to Windows 95 systems should not be present on a Windows NT Server 4.0 system I2O (Intelligent I/O Architecture) Drivers for Windows NT Available only in Beta test versions Microsoft Windows NT Services for UNIX Available only in Beta test versions Personal Web Services 4.0 Runs only on Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 98 and should not be present on a Windows NT Server 4.0 system Routing and Remote Access Service Performance and Security Upgrade This is a collection of updates that have no impact on Year 2000 compliance ratings Routing and Remote Access Service Upgrade for Windows NT Server This is a collection of updates that have no impact on Year 2000 compliance ratings Windows NT Server Management Tools for Windows 95 Runs only on Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 98 and should not be present on a Windows NT Server 4.0 system

Return to Search Screen

If after reviewing this information you have additional questions related to this product, click here.

ANY MICROSOFT YEAR 2000 STATEMENTS MADE TO YOU IN THE COURSE OF PROVIDING YEAR 2000 RELATED UPDATES, YEAR 2000 DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS, OR REMEDIATION SERVICES (IF ANY) ARE SUBJECT TO THE YEAR 2000 INFORMATION AND READINESS DISCLOSURE ACT (112 STAT. 2386). IN CASE OF A DISPUTE, THIS ACT MAY REDUCE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS REGARDING THE USE OF ANY SUCH STATEMENTS, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED BY YOUR CONTRACT OR TARIFF.

This site is being designated as a Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure and the information contained herein is provided pursuant to the terms hereof and the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act.