A user discovers a rather unique Windows 10 bug, though probably no one will ever be affected. The implications, however, lead to reflection
In 1999, the so-called “Millennium Bug” scared millions of people, because it was feared that with the arrival of the year 2000, most computers would have trouble handling the new date. Now another similar bug has popped up, affecting Windows 10, but not scaring anyone.
Youtuber Carey Holzman discovered it and renamed it “Y3K”, because the fateful year this time is not 2000, but 3001. That’s right, because some motherboards allow you to change the Bios date by setting it much later than the current year. But if the date set is later than January 19, 3001 AD, Holzman explains, then the installation of Windows 10 version 1909 (the second semi-annual update of 2019) will crash inexorably. We doubt there’s anyone in the world who needs to set their PC’s date to 3001, but the bug is curious nonetheless.
Y3K bug: how it works
Holzman explained how this strange Windows 10 bug works. If the Bios date is after January 19, 3001, it is possible to launch the installation of Windows 10 version 1909, but at the second of the many reboots of the computer required to complete the process everything will get stuck and Windows will not want to install correctly. Even entering the Bios and changing the date, moreover, the procedure will not be completed but, on the contrary, Windows will crash as soon as it checks the date. Holzman has verified this error with both an Intel and an AMD CPU motherboard, both manufactured by Gigabyte.
Y3K bug: how to fix it
In addition to discovering the Y3K bug, Holzman has also found a way to fix it. Of course, you start by resetting the Bios date to a year earlier than 3001, then you have to restart the PC from the storage media (USB stick or Dvd, it doesn’t change) from which you were trying to install Windows 10. We also need to erase all the partitions on the PC’s disk that will be hosting Windows and once everything is back to zero, we can finally complete the installation of the operating system.
Don’t touch the Bios date
Nowadays people who enter the bios of a PC are very few. Even fewer are those who change the date, since it is really hard for anyone to need it. However, it’s worth pointing out that the Y3K bug is only one of the many problems we can run into due to an incorrect date in the Bios. Much easier is to run into problems with subscription-based software or online services, or websites that won’t load because they think the security certificates have expired.