Expert: Millions of PCs may crash, Fix must be made before midnight New Year's Eve

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PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO

Expert: Millions of PCs may crash, Fix must be made before midnight New Year's Eve

By David M. Bresnahan

) 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

The wait-and-see approach to the Y2K computer bug may send millions of computers to the junk pile in a few days, according to one Y2K expert.

Computers must be fixed before the start of the year 2000 because some will crash beyond repair, says David Elliott, author of "Everyone's Guide to Making a Million in the Year 2000 Crash."

"We didn't get enough done in time. The public's still asleep about getting their PCs fixed. Businesses are still asleep about getting their PCs fixed. If we're asleep in the U.S., God help the rest of the world that we depend on for our economy," Elliott told WorldNetDaily.

After spending over 20 years in the securities industry before getting involved in warning people about the potential problems of the Y2K computer bug two years ago, Elliott produced and narrated the television documentary, "Y2K: World in Crisis," which has aired on the PAX cable network many times in the past few months.

There are over 300 million personal computers in use in the U.S. alone, said Elliott, 90 percent of which may crash when the date changes to Jan. 1, 2000, unless they are fixed now. Most computer owners believe they can wait to see if their computer crashes and then fix it. But some computers will crash beyond repair, according to Elliott.

"It will do no good to wait until January 1," warned Bryce Poulson, owner of Pcbugfix.com. "After the deadline, PCs that are not repaired will crash, and many will be rendered very difficult or even impossible to fix. People will lose important records that could also be destroyed."

Exactly what happens to a computer that has not been Y2K repaired depends on a number of factors.

"It could crash. It could give them bad data. It could just shut down and not work. There are several things that could go wrong with it if they don't get the hardware fixed. That's just the tip of the iceberg," explained Elliott.

"It depends on the computer and the software. Some computers aren't going to be fixable at all, and if they're running on some old systems, too bad.

"It's a lack of education on the public's part. We've seen the government do its job on everybody. The proof is, how many people out there have fixed their PC yet?" asked Elliott.

Not many, according to Poulson. He said he has been surprised that people are not taking the Y2K problem in their own computer more seriously. Small businesses also have chosen to do nothing.

Elliott complimented Poulson's company for making an easy to use software program that fixes personal computers, and for making it available almost free through a simple download over the Internet. But he warned that the repair must be made right away to avoid severe damage.

"His program is the only one I know that takes care of hardware and software Y2K problems quickly and easily," said Elliott, who is not associated with Poulson's company but recommends the software. "He's almost giving it away in an effort to help as many people and small businesses as possible before it's too late."

Elliott predicted 500,000 small businesses will go under next year, primarily because of the impact of the Y2K computer bug.

"They're asleep. They haven't done anything. People are going to sleep until the last minute, then they're going to scramble like crazy," said Elliott. He blames the procrastination on the federal government for not giving the public a loud and clear warning of the dangers of the Y2K bug.

Elliott joins with many investment counselors and economic advisors in predicting a major recession in the United States and a depression around the world in the coming year. Y2K computer bug problems in other countries will start a chain reaction, he said, that will impact U.S. businesses in a few months.

"Everything's intertwined here. The idea that Y2K is just going to go away after the first of the year is not true. It's going to last throughout the year and into the following year," warned Elliott.

"Y2K is an economic event around the world that won't just be on day one or day two. It will be a slow cascading effect, because we're all interconnected," he added.

America has become dependent on the global economy, he noted, adding that if companies in other countries fail, companies in the U.S. may be unable to obtain inventories and supplies, leading to layoffs and corresponding high unemployment.

"You know, if you lose your job, it's a depression. If your pay gets cut or your business slows down, it might be a recession for you. It just depends on whether you go out of business or not. I'm expecting a fairly severe recession over the next couple of years," predicted Elliott.

He said he is trying to sound the alarm and warn as many people as possible to fix their personal computers while there is still time.

David M. Bresnahan is an investigative journalist for WorldNetDaily.com

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 30, 1999

Answers

Thanks Uncle Bob,

Wouldn't it have been a pleasure to see articles like this one/two years ago, at the least, seems almost futile and redundant now.

I don't know what to say, I'm speechless.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 30, 1999.

am certainly worried about jan. 1, but... why can't most of these failed firms, large and small, just boot to an older date, buy a newer hardware, and port their data, even if it is manually. Significant firms, large and small, have backups - they can boot to an older date, restore their data and port. Less significant firms can go to a manual system. i.e. books, pencil, and calculators.

We live in an object based world and we are not joined at the hip. Receivers will switch vendors, new firms will spring up everywhere to fill supply and demand. VC investors prepare!!!

I say we all buy stock in the hardware companies... ;)

-- KatInSeattle (YouC@ntSpamMe.com), December 30, 1999.

I only know to do one thing and that is to change my computer date to Feb 29, 2000. I did that and nothing happen to my programs or to my internet connection. I guess I will have to wait and see. I want a new laptop anyway.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), December 30, 1999.

Merci, ...but do consider the source. WorldNetDaily does tend to dramatize an issue... :)

-- BayouBoy (BayouBoy@bayou.com), December 30, 1999.