Microsoft has a CD-ROM to test and update its applications. K information for major vendors. Don Jones, director of Year 2000 readiness at Microsoft, recommends that consumers assess what programs they use. Individuals tend to use less than 15 percent of more than 100 programs installed in a typical computer. Microsoft tested more than 4,000 programs and found a handful of bugs, mostly minor ones that incorrectly displays dates rather than cause malfunctions.
Data files are the hardest to check because no two users are alike.
The key is to manually convert years to four digits when possible. Commercial Y2K programs such as Symantec's Norton 2000 and McAfee's Y2K Survival Kit can help. Don't make the mistake of assuming everything's OK just because one program shoots back the correct date. Contact the webmasters.