[300] in winnt
Re: Dell Flash BIOS
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Gayle C. Willman)
Sat Jan 30 21:09:38 1999
In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19990129154551.008e87a4@po9.mit.edu>
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 21:08:57 -0500
To: Jodie Higgins <jodie@MIT.EDU>, itpartners@MIT.EDU, ntpartners@MIT.EDU
From: "Gayle C. Willman" <willman@MIT.EDU>
At 10:45 AM -0500 1/29/1999, Jodie Higgins wrote:
>Does anyone know if MIT is suggesting the Dell Flash BIOS fix for Y2K
>compliance for all of the Dell Optiplexes deployed for SAP? (I have an
>office full of them)
*** Yes! -- *all* PC's should be checked for Year 2000 readiness, and the
BIOS should be flashed if necessary.
A good procedure -- for any Windows NT PC -- is this one:
(1.) Download NSTL's YMARK 2000 (a free utility) to a pre-formatted floppy
disk -- i.e., do not use a floppy that has been formatted on a Windows NT
computer! Boot the PC with the disk, then follow the directions that
accompany the software.
The software is available from:
http://www.nstl.com/html/nstl_ymark2000.html
This test program verifies that the "Real Time Clock" chip on your PC is
Year 2000 compatible. If the chip is not compatible, operating systems or
programs that read the clock directly may fail. The test program then
verifies the progression from December 31st, 1999 to January 1st, 2000; and
also verifies your system's recognition and support of leap years from 2000
through 2009.
(2.) If your system fails any these tests (YMARK2000 will report results),
then go to the Y2K Team page for the appropriate link:
http://mitvma.mit.edu/mity2k/y2kcomp.html
Added complication:
Other universities have reported that PC's equipped with SCSI and/or other
cards may pass the NSTL's test when the cards are present -- but fail when
the cards are removed from the PC. You should make a determination about
your machines -- if they are running "mission critical" applications or
handling data you absolutely require in your area, test your PC's without
cards. Under the test conditions reported so far, the SCSI and other cards
are regarded as "another potential point of failure."
Questions? send mail to: y2k-help@mit.edu
Gayle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gayle C. Willman willman@mit.edu
MIT Year 2000 Team (617)253-9366
77 Massachusetts Ave, Room W91-209B, Cambridge, MA 02139
MIT's Year 2000 web site: http://mitvma.mit.edu/mity2k/
To ask the team specific questions about your situation, send email to:
y2k-help@mitvma.mit.edu
"Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear"
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