Changes to the date daylight-savings time could cause a time glitch reminiscent, but not as serious, as the potential effects of the much-hyped "Y2K bug" in some computers, according to The Associated Press. Daylight savings time will begin March 11 this year.
Any computer programmed before a law passed by Congress in 2005 changed the start-date for daylight-savings time could have timing problems if it does not have the proper patch to update its daylight-savings settings. The law required the U.S. to move the start of daylight-savings time from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday in March beginning this year, the AP reported.
Microsoft posted a patch to update clock settings on its Windows operating systems on its Web site in February, but the patch is only available for users who own Windows 2000 Professional or one of the versions of Windows XP. Users of Windows Vista are immune to the glitch because their operating system was finalized after the law was passed, according to the AP.
Older programs may not have any software support to update time settings, while some electronics, such as VCRs, do not have any way to update time software. Owners of older Windows products may need to go into their time settings and deselect the option for daylight-savings time switching, the AP reported.
