February 7, 1997

AVSS has been designed and tested for trouble-free operation in the Year 2000 and beyond. Reliable operations across centuries was included in the original software design by referencing January 1, 1840 as the starting reference date. All other dates are computed based on the number of days elapsed since the start date. For example, today is the 57,016th day using this convention. As far as AVSS is concerned, Saturday, January 1, 2000 will simply be the 58,074th day (just 1,058 days from now). Indeed, because AVSS automates death certificates in California, it has been processing dates occurring in the 19th Century (birth dates of elderly decedents) for several years.

While we are confident in the AVSS design concept that will span centuries, it is possible to pre-test an actual operational system. Data processing staff can confirm the proper operation of AVSS in the Year 2000 in your facility by using the following procedure:

1. Copy the current *.BAT, *.EXE, and *.MSM files from the \AVSS directory to another (backup) PC.
2. Set the DOS date on the backup PC to a date in the Year 2000 or beyond.
3. Log onto AVSS on the backup PC (your password will have expired) and reset your password.
4. Register a birth under Hospital Birth Record using appropriate Year 2000 dates.

Updated June 24, 1997 by RL Williams

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