Newsgroup: it.comp.hardware
Titolo: Compaq PC's *really* Y2K compliant?

Testing Firm Claims Compaq PCs Aren't Year 2000 Compliant
http://www.pcworld.com/news/daily/data/0598/980529132003.html
This article talks about how a British software company called "Prove It
2000" and Compaq disagree over whether a PC's internal clock needs to be Year
2000 compliant in order for the PC to be considered Year 2000 compliant.  The
article doesn't identify which PCs are involved, so I'm uncertain whether our
ProLiant servers are affected.
Compaq has an impressive looking Y2K related website at
http://www.compaq.com/year2000/
, which I will investigate further.
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A Compaq representative issued the following thorough reply:
Compaq Statement on Year 2000 Compliance and Response to Prove It 2000:
Compaq appreciates the significance of the Year 2000 rollover and the serious
problems this event may cause customers and businesses.  We are committed to
providing the best possible ownership experience to our customers, which is
why we are working with NSTL (National Software Testing Laboratories)-the
world's leading independent information technology testing organization-to
verify the Year 2000 readiness of our products.
To resolve hardware and firmware Year 2000 issues in our computers, we have
modified the ROM BIOS in two ways.  The first modification addresses a system
that is powered off while the date rollover occurs.  When that system is
powered on after the rollover, an incorrect date may be supplied.  We have
added an algorithm in the ROM BIOS that looks at the Real Time Clock (RTC)
data during the POST routine and calculates “IF YEAR LESS THAN 50 SET CENTURY
EQUALS 20.”  This algorithm allows the ROM BIOS to increment the century byte
correctly upon system startup after the rollover.
Our second modification addresses a system that is running during the date
rollover.  In most cases, the OS will handle detection of the rollover and
CMOS century updates.  To provide for applications that may bypass the OS
during date queries and for OSs that are incapable of handling the rollover
correctly, we have created another algorithm in the run-time ROM BIOS.	Upon
date requests, this second algorithm looks at the RTC data and calculates “IF
YEAR EQUALS 00 SET CENTURY EQUALS 20.”	Any valid, date-data function call
after the roll-over, whether it occurs during the hardware boot cycle or
during regular operation, will result in the correct date response and a
century byte update.
Regardless of the method used, once the century byte has been updated to "20,"
manual intervention by the user or date manipulation via the OS would be
required to change the century value back to "19."  Year 2000 is a leap year
and the RTC correctly handles it as such.
We verify the Year 2000 readiness of all our commercial and consumer desktop
PCs, portable PCs, servers, and workstations using the NSTL YMARK2000 test.
NSTL’s YMARK2000 test verifies the following: The date is at compatible
indices, so that non-DOS based operating systems that access the clock
directly will obtain the correct date. MC146818 RTC compatibility.  This test
determines that the date and time indices are compatible to the MC146818 RTC
and that the data is in packed BCD format.  Some non-DOS-based operating
systems, such as UNIX, may use the drivers rather than the BIOS to access the
clock directly.  If the chip is not compatible, these non-DOS-based operating
systems or programs that read the clock directly may fail. The century byte
is in the correct location in CMOS. Real-time progression from December 31,
1999, to January 1, 2000, is enabled. Recognition of leap year, when
appropriate, for years 2000 through 2009 exists.
Our product warranty includes coverage of the ability to pass the test-a first
in the industry when originally announced on October 7th, 1997
In its recent May 28th press release, Prove It 2000 says, “… Compaq should
alert its customers to the issue of the Real Time Clock,” implying that we
have not done so.  However, in a major White Paper titled “Preparing for the
Year 2000,” released in 1997, prior to our NSTL testing warranty
announcement, and updated in January 1998, we did just that, stating: “Any
application that bypasses the OS and ROM BIOS to obtain date data directly
from the RTC may receive an incorrect date.”
There is no defect in the NSTL test methodology.  NSTL tests hardware systems
to verify they run software written to industry standards.
Applications that obtain date data directly from the RTC may exist but, to the
extent they do not contain logic to adjust for the actual date, violate basic
PC programming principles. In Peter Norton’s book “Programmer’s Guide to the
IBM PC,” widely regarded to be the original PC programmer’s handbook, he
states: “The basic philosophy of the PC family is: Let the BIOS do it; don’t
mess with direct control.”  In IBM’s “PS/2 and PC BIOS Interface Technical
Reference,” IBM states: “Any program that requires precise timing information
should obtain it through an operating systerm or language interface; … In
environments where the operating system does not provide the necessary
programming interfaces, programs should access the hardware through BIOS
function calls, if permissible.”
Prove It 2000 asserts that it has offered Compaq assistance at “minimal
cost.” The issue is not cost, it is the lack of relevancy of the Prove It
solution to customers purchasing industry standard systems to run industry
standard software. In its procurement process, the US General Services
Administration specifically requires vendors’ products to accurately process
date data “to the extent that other information technology, used in
combination with the information technology being acquired, properly
exchanges date/time data with it.” Customers, including the GSA, can freely
purchase solutions for unique needs relating to non-industry standard
software from multiple vendors in the marketplace.  The exceptions do not set
the bar for standard procurement.
In its May 19th complaint filed with the UK Advertising Standards Authority,
Prove It 2000 alleges that Compaq is peddling “misinformation.”  As in this
release, we have always been very open and accurate in our public statements
and stand behind them.  Few OEMs have provided the level of detail provided by
us, for as long as us, on PC products and the Year 2000 issue.  Additional
information on our products and the Year 2000 issue can be found at
www.compaq.com/year2000
.
In its complaint, Prove It 2000 also states that it understands the NSTL
YMARK2000 test was created for Compaq at Compaq’s expense.  In fact, the test
was created independently by NSTL at NSTL’s expense and made available on the
Web for use by all before being adopted by us.  We adopted the test only after
its release and success in the marketplace, and based upon requests by key
customers, including the Canadian Federal Government.
Twenty-four companies have adopted the NSTL test methodology for year 2000
readiness, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Olivetti, Micron Electronics and
Packard Bell NEC Europe.  The weight of industry is behind NSTL, the world’s
leading information technology testing organization.
Thank you,
David Westall
Compaq Online Services
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