Pay attention!! This is important!

I figured it would be smarter to wait to run the Microsoft Year 2000 product analyzer report late in the year and pick up more patches. So last evening I made a night of it. Backed up my data on a zip drive, updated the McAfee virus software and moseyed over to microsoft.com about 9:00 pm.

The good news is that the report analyzer is more recent than the one they sent me in August; the bad news is that I had to download a lot of stuff and I am not done yet. I had never updated to system release 2 (didn't know that I needed to) and downloading that for Office took about 3.5 hours. The last survey I took at 2:30 in the morning shows I still have to download patches for about 12 programs!!

Initially the directions were not particularly intuitive, but I admit a wee bit of challenge on that part in general. I have always figured that people who write computer software instruction guides should be hung by their thumbs.

I may try logging on today during "rush hour" but perhaps it makes sense to wait until fellow pc users are at Christmas mass or something.

Merry Christmas to all.

-- Nancy (wellsnl@hotmail.com), December 24, 1999

Answers

I did the Micrsoft download two weeks ago. I downloaded the Office 97 update to my desktop & when it came time to actually put it in the system (I'm computer challenged) it wouldn't go so I had to call Microsoft & they cheerfully sent me a CD to solve my problem. Unfortuantly they didn't ship it UPS & the Airborn Express delivery guy set the dirt colored package in the center of my driveway outside the 8 foot gate & when the propane guy came to top off my tanks, he ran over the disk. Story of my life. So, yes, I agree it takes a looooong time to update one's system. Don't delay.

-- mostlylurking (mostlylurking@podunk.texas), December 24, 1999.

Notice Nancy said she backed up her data?

Notice I've been harping on the idea of making a good backup set, come what may?

Notice how much of a pain in the butt it is to get a PC compliant?

You're down to a week... Make it count.

O d d O n e, who has everything fixed that there's a fix for.

-- OddOne (mocklmaer_1999@yahoo.com), December 24, 1999.

Nancy, thanks for the tip. The only thing I am updating, other than the usual BIOS, CMOS, etc. is Windows 98, and I'm using the Win 98 Service Pack CD. (folks, available for only $5 S & H from www.microsoft.com) On the other hand, I've decided to do a clean reinstall of the entire original Gateway software suite prior to the update, and plan to use Intellifix 2000 (by Intelliquiis)(tm) on the whole mess.

Now, my daughter's machine, an ACER 166 Pentium running the Original, never updated, (it has never crashed badly enough to warrant a System Restore, let alone an Update) 16 bit Windows 95 will present problems like you describe. Microsoft doesn't supply a CD for this, so it is download time (unfortunately, my cable modem setup is fried, so it is the telephone company 56k download speed) and I have my doubts bout BIOS fixes to a machine that ancient (3 Years old). If push comes to shove, I will probably opt for one of those ISA hardware fix cards.

Either way, either machine, Y2K has been, and will be, a Royal discomfort to the posterior.

-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It's ALL going away in a week.com), December 24, 1999.

My plan is to set the Bios Clock back 2 years. With all the patches stacked on applications, OS, and clock I am figuring that this is the simplest, most stable solution until I see what happens to the business folks. Of course no accounting software for me.

Any thoughts?

Merry Christmas, Paul

-- Paul (paul@home.com), December 24, 1999.

Odd One,

Thanks for mentioning the Backups. I have my Gateway with a built in Zip 100 and hve added a SCSI Zip 250 exterior drive. Currently, I have an incremental backup on the Gateway. I am adding a Parrallel port Zip 100 that I no longer use to my daughter's ACER and will back up her system prior to the fix.

BTW, I also use the Zip drive to make a Norton Zip Rescue Disk set. Iomega offers a One Step Backup (tm) and the Norton Zip Rescue (tm) as well as Norton 2000 BIOS Test and Fix programs on selected packages of Zip disks, an outstanding value.

As Iomega says in their adds "Y2K's coming, don't just sit there!!

-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It's ALL going away in a week.com), December 24, 1999.

Let me clarify a couple of things about my thread. My brain is foggy after 3 hours of sleep and I still missed putting the cans out in time for the garbage man! What a wonderful way to start the day.

My desktop is an 11 month old Dell Dimension system and the last time I checked their web site it was compliant or whatever words they use. I plan to check again later today given the evidence that patches have a way of surfacing after one checks. (such as the fun IBM OS390 patches that Cory Hamasaki refers to.) I have two HP printers--an old series 600 ink jet and a new model 710 all in one that probably has some date issues. Haven't tried that site yet either.

I am referring to the software loaded on my system. The stuff it came with as well as Office97 professional, Quicken, and a whole lot of Adobe--all to help support my post retiring consulting work.

Having been a former silicon valley workerbee, I never was all that fond of Bill Gates, now I am less so.

It may be triage time for Microsoft stuff and HP and FOF the others. I just sent out an e-mail to friends and family warning them. 'Course most of them think I wear a tinfoil hat...

On top of everything else, I missed the c41 posts last night, Damn!

-- Nancy+ (wellsnl@hotmail.com), December 24, 1999.

My computer is still covered by the one year, next day in-home service. If I have problems I'll call. Sure there'll be a glut of people calling them, no problem. But if they don't honor their guarantee then I'll buy a new computer from them with my credit card and afterwards refuse payment. All I can lose is my credit rating, and I don't much care about that.

If things are too rough for me to buy a new computer (if necessary), then I won't be needing a computer anyway. All this focus on the "personal-level" Y2K potential problems seems trivial to me. If all the electrical goods in my personal life would break down, including vehicular, I really wouldn't be bothered much. Only systemic problems worry me.

As for backing up data - I have no important data. But I agree that anyone who does should back it up as a regular practice.

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), December 24, 1999.

Gus, even new computers may need fixes for the Microsoft software. I really recommend you download the report analyzer. you can get to it at www.microsoft.com/y2k

My pc is less than a year old and it took me 10 hours to run the report and download and run all the recommended fixes.

Important!!!: Excel in Office 97 has a notation that additional fixes are forthcoming. swell...

-- Nancy (wellnl@hotmail.com), December 24, 1999.

I'm not doing a thing. If it bombs, I will sue. If there's electricity. If we have courts.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

Just a short one, don't over look that a LOT of these patches and upgrades are available on the CD's on the front of computer mag's. Saves a heap of D/L time

-- scarletbreasted (scarletbreasted@hotmail.com), December 24, 1999.

nancy, thanks for the advice. i'm patching up a win 95 machine for my parents to use to get online. i suspected i was in for some work. good luck getting everything straightened out on your computer.

-- nance (nancyw@mailcity.com), December 24, 1999.

"I have always figured that people who write computer software instruction guides should be hung by their thumbs."

Couldn't do that Nance, they are firmly embedded in their collective asses.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), December 24, 1999.