1990's BIOS

[Sabio]

Does anyone here remember the 1990's and how BIOS clock could be turned back? and it created financial scare.

[Hydrogen]

That was Y2K bug:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem

Financial markets were concerned computer systems might only count up to the year 1999.

And not count high enough to reach the year 2000.

[NotATether]

Can't you already turn back the system clock in many BIOSes even today?

[Sabio]

Can't you already turn back the system clock in many BIOSes even today?

You can, but back in the day, your program could still run, when flipped online. Creating Y2K, 2000 financial, the computer scare.

[Sabio]

That was Y2K bug:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem

Financial markets were concerned computer systems might only count up to the year 1999.

And not count high enough to reach the year 2000.

Y2K was not only just about the calendar flipping from 1999 to 2000, but it was much more, especially for financial networks like Visa. Every program and system relied on specific dates and times.

The BIOS clock on a computer keeps the date even when it’s off. If it was set wrong, or a program went online with an old or incorrect time, it could stamp transactions with the wrong date. For Visa, meaning declined cards, billing errors, fraud or false fraud alerts.

One mis-set server or ATM could disrupt millions of transactions. Y2K prep wasn’t only about rewriting code, it was about checking every clock, BIOS, and program to protect the global financial network.

[Vod]

Does anyone here remember the 1990's and how BIOS clock could be turned back? and it created financial scare.

Hydrogen has the correct link.

I led a team of six in 1999 to reprogram all our core financial software.  Had we not, on Jan 1 every loan would have been issued in the future, leading to crashes and chaos.   Fact was early programmers had used only enough storage for the last decimals of the year.    Back in the day, it cost a penny extra per decimal, so every instance of a year in code could double costs; programmers did not think their code would still be in use when the first two digits of the year changed. 

To this day people still tell me they think it was a hoax.  :/

[Sabio]

Does anyone here remember the 1990's and how BIOS clock could be turned back? and it created financial scare.

Hydrogen has the correct link.

I led a team of six in 1999 to reprogram all our core financial software.  Had we not, on Jan 1 every loan would have been issued in the future, leading to crashes and chaos.   Fact was early programmers had used only enough storage for the last decimals of the year.    Back in the day, it cost a penny extra per decimal, so every instance of a year in code could double costs; programmers did not think their code would still be in use when the first two digits of the year changed.  

To this day people still tell me they think it was a hoax.  :/

Thank you for your response, I remember being around at 10 years old on hacker forums and hearing them talk about it, but didn't help. Also, thank you for your help. Do you specifically remember people changing the BIO's and purchases of domain names, some in different regions, and how changing BIO's could effect those transactions?

[Sabio]

Does anyone here remember the 1990's and how BIOS clock could be turned back? and it created financial scare.

Hydrogen has the correct link.

I led a team of six in 1999 to reprogram all our core financial software.  Had we not, on Jan 1 every loan would have been issued in the future, leading to crashes and chaos.   Fact was early programmers had used only enough storage for the last decimals of the year.    Back in the day, it cost a penny extra per decimal, so every instance of a year in code could double costs; programmers did not think their code would still be in use when the first two digits of the year changed.  

To this day people still tell me they think it was a hoax.  :/

I also think Bitcoins best use case was testing if time is cyclical, or linear. 1901 financial scare, 1907 financial scare, the 2000 scare, the 2008 scare. The technical limits and progress behind Web 2 and technology of the pandemic, if the technology such as blockchain was adopted and understood earlier, we could of avoided 2020. I remember, the word for magic, or machine is "Makina", like the creationism story of Mackinaw Island, Turtle Island, where creationism was thought to start by indigenous people. A good way to test or verify these things is by testing computer systems and time in 1990's 2000's. Before then 1900's you would have to rely on mechanical clocks, the coo coo clock invented by Germans as precise as it was, could be tampered with, miscalibrated, lose time due to non-maintenance. All of this leads naturally to the looming 2106 problem, a future temporal boundary that will once again test our understanding of time in computational systems.

[Vod]

BIOS was never an issue.   Yes, earlier computers only stored the last two digits of the year meaning it did not know the difference between 1900 and 2000.  But it didn't need to - the software (unless it had transactions over 100 years old which was impossible) could adjust automatically. 

[Sabio]

BIOS was never an issue.   Yes, earlier computers only stored the last two digits of the year meaning it did not know the difference between 1900 and 2000.  But it didn't need to - the software (unless it had transactions over 100 years old which was impossible) could adjust automatically. 

How did it affect domain purchases? Do you remember?

[Vod]

How did it affect domain purchases? Do you remember?

Domain purchases?   They are maxed out at ten years so they would have been fine once the operating system was patched.   Microsoft had all major OSes Y2K ready well in advance. 

[Sabio]

How did it affect domain purchases? Do you remember?

Domain purchases?   They are maxed out at ten years so they would have been fine once the operating system was patched.   Microsoft had all major OSes Y2K ready well in advance.  

Thanks Vod for sharing your highly valuable knowledge, and previous contributions. I have been joining forums or chats with younger individuals recently into all the mechanics behind Bitcoin, and tokens but they forget your contributions and other developers work to fix financial systems in 1999's which happened mostly on AOL. They only remember Satoshi Nakamoto's story and 2008, what pieces they can find. They don't know where a/s/l originated from, or anything of that nature. I am getting older as well, and my memory is fuzzy in some areas. Again, thank you!

[Vod]

They don't know where a/s/l originated from, or anything of that nature. I am getting older as well, and my memory is fuzzy in some areas. Again, thank you!

LOL.  On ICQ, that was the first thing people said.  Hi!  asl?   

[Sabio]

They don't know where a/s/l originated from, or anything of that nature. I am getting older as well, and my memory is fuzzy in some areas. Again, thank you!

LOL.  On ICQ, that was the first thing people said.  Hi!  asl?   

Until it became Agency, Sedwig, and Legacy!

[Bozza]

Was this an MS-DOS issue? I don't think windows 95 and later were ever affected by this..

[flapduck]

You can still set CMOS time back, but that only hides symptoms, the real fix was patching software and using NTP/secure time.

Next real timestamp worry is 2038 on 32-bit systems. lol

[Vod]

Press F2 or DEL when IBM-compatible PC started. Then, in BIOS choose with arrows and TAB button date field and change - nothing difficult.

Then you try and run any program that uses a date, and it fails because 1900 isn't a valid year.  "Nothing difficult" lol.

[Sabio]

You can still set CMOS time back, but that only hides symptoms, the real fix was patching software and using NTP/secure time.

Next real timestamp worry is 2038 on 32-bit systems. lol

I don't quite understand the question, as I only speak Japanese. However, if you want to translate a file's creation date/metadata, use utilities like exiftool and touch -m -a -t . Furthermore, yes, UNIX-like operating systems (32-bit ones) do indeed have a so-called "2000 bug," but it will dates back to 2038 due to a 32-bit int variable overflow. However, a PC's BIOS itself can be reset to as far back as 2090 (if we're talking about exotic PDAs like those made by Casio, it can be reset to 2099). Further, please clarify the question. I'm not a neural network, but I'll say this.

よろしくお願いいたします。Ada Sl|_|t。

The issue of timestamp overflow is broader than just 2038: as you noted, 32-bit UNIX-like systems will overflow then, and certain implementations of Bitcoin timestamps will overflow in 2106. These limitations underscore the importance of forward-thinking design in both software and hardware.

From a historical and philosophical perspective, one might view these predictable cycles as a technological saeculum, where structural vulnerabilities and innovation recur across generations. Understanding these cycles helps us align our systems with linear time, or cyclical anticipating future challenges and ensuring resilience.

線形的な時間の中で、世代の周期（セーキュラム）を意識し、過去の教訓から学び、未来に備えることが重要です。

よろしくお願いいたします。

[Sabio]

Was this an MS-DOS issue? I don't think windows 95 and later were ever affected by this..

You’re correct, this was not really an MS-DOS or Windows 95+ issue. Windows uses the FILETIME structure, which counts 100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1601, so it doesn’t run into the 2038 overflow problem that affects 32-bit Unix-like systems. If I am wrong, please refer to our vetted elder Vod. I only vaguely remember due to learning my writing in AOL forums, where hackers or developers were patching in real time, as they taught me code.