Two months ago, we discussed the testing of PCs for Year 2000 compliance, and last month we detailed how to fix the problem. This month, we address the question of what to do when the proposed solution does not work. There are two options, diagnose further using a tool such as Safetynet Inc.'s Yes2K year 2000 compliance tool or replace the BIOS.
Yes2K looks for year 2000 incompatibilities in PC hardware, and if one is detected, it fixes the problem or recommends a solution. If the tool is unable to fix the problem, the remedy usually is to replace the BIOS. The benefit of using this tool, which sells for $10 per machine at wholesale to computer stores and is resold at $19 and up, is that it avoids replacing the BIOS at several times the cost of Yes2K in those cases where it is not the problem.
A word of caution, fixing the Year 2000 problem in hardware does not mean that older applications software will work properly after December 31, 1999.
