Microsoft Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure & Resource Center

Windows Operating System Interactions with BIOS and Real Time Clock

The following tests were designed to verify whether or not the Windows« operating system and the RTC/BIOS combination on your PC are Year 2000 ready. Microsoft recommends that you conduct the following Year 2000 rollover tests off-line. As a precaution, do not run any applications while testing with future dates.

Before testing, isolate the test machine from the network, exit all applications, and disable all local time-synchronization services, time-based programs such as Schedule +, and evaluation software with time expirations ("betas").

Microsoft recommends that you use a boot disk, not your loaded operating system, when performing the rollover tests.

1. Create the boot disk:
   1. While Windows is running, insert a floppy disk into drive A. Click Start, click Programs and then click MS-DOS Prompt. At the C:\> prompt in the MS-DOS Prompt window, type SYS A: and then press ENTER. Wait for the "System transferred" message.
   2. Remove the disk from drive A. Write-protect the boot disk to prevent the spread of viruses.

2. See if the operating system rolls the century to 2000 while the machine is running:
   1. Reinsert the boot disk into drive A, turn off the machine and then restart it.
   2. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Set the date to 12/31/1999. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Set the time to 11:59:45p and press ENTER.
   3. Wait at least 20 seconds, and then at the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Check to see if the date rolled over to 1/1/2000, then press ENTER.

   If the current date does not read 1/1/2000, the operating system does not roll over the century while the machine is running.

3. See if the date rolls over to the year 2000 when the machine is off:
   1. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Set the date to 12/31/1999 and press ENTER. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Set the time to 11:59:45p and press ENTER.
   2. Turn off the machine and wait at least a minute.
   3. With the boot disk still in drive A, restart the machine. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Check to see if the date rolled over to 1/1/2000, and then press ENTER.

   If the current date does not read 1/1/2000, the BIOS does not handle rollover when the machine is off (Cases 1 and 2).

4. See if the machine keeps the year 2000 when the machine is off:
   1. Type DATE at the A:\> prompt and press ENTER. Set the date to 1/1/2000. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Set the time to 12:00:00p and press ENTER.
   2. Turn off the machine and wait at least a minute.
   3. With the boot disk still in disk drive A, restart the machine. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Check to see if the RTC kept the date, and then press ENTER.

   If the current date does not read 1/1/2000, the BIOS does not keep the year 2000 when the machine is off (Case 2).

5. See if BIOS Setup accepts the year 2000 as a valid date:

   ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU ARE A QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN. If you change a setting you are unfamiliar with, your system may not restart.

   1. Type DATE at the A\>: prompt and press ENTER. Set the date to 1/1/2000 and press ENTER. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Set the time to 12:00:00p and press ENTER.
   2. Turn off the machine and wait at least one minute.
   3. With the boot disk still in disk drive A, restart the machine and enter BIOS Setup. (Please refer to BIOS documentation that came with the machine or follow the directions on the screen when the machine is restarting.)
   4. Confirm that the date in BIOS Setup reads 1/1/2000.
   5. Change the date to 1/2/2000 in BIOS Setup.
   6. EXIT WITHOUT SAVING and restart the system.

   If the date does not change to 1/2/2000, BIOS Setup does not accept a valid date (Case 3).

6. See if the system recognizes the year 2000 as a leap year:
   1. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Set the date to 2/28/2000 and press ENTER. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Set the time to 11:59:45p and press ENTER.
   2. Wait at least 20 seconds, and then at the A:\> prompt type DATE and press ENTER. Check to see if the date changed to 2/29/2000 and then press ENTER.

   If the date does not change to 2/29/2000, the system does not recognize the year 2000 as a leap year.

7. Reset the computer operating system to the current date:
   1. At the A:\> prompt, type DATE and press ENTER. Type the current date and then press ENTER. At the next A:\> prompt, type TIME and press ENTER. Type the current time and then press ENTER.
   2. Remove the boot disk from drive A and reboot the machine.

Don't forget step G, otherwise your software licenses could prematurely expire and programs like Schedule + could become confused.

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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.