Daylight Savings Time 2007 Information

Daylight Savings Time rules have changed, potentially causing big problems for computer systems in countries operating under this system.  Daylight Savings Time for 2007 begins on March 11.

Among the biggest DST-related problems are:

• Windows networks using Active Directory do not function properly if client and server time settings are out of synch by more than 5 minutes
• Microsoft has not released patches for Windows operating systems released prior to Windows XP
• Microsoft uses separate DST databases for Windows and Outlook, therefore requiring 2 separate upgrades
• Many handheld/PDA devices are unaware of the new DST rules and can cause problems synchronizing calendar data
• Many DST upgrades and patches were not released until well into 2007

The SPSU Division of IT staff have been working diligently for some weeks updating servers and workstations campus-wide to deal with these issues.

Still, all users should be prepared for any unexpected problems which may occur on 03/12.  We ask for everyone's patience and understanding if/when problems do occur.

If you find that you cannot login to your workstation on 03/12 please call the doIT helpdesk at xHELP.

Items of note:

Windows XP:

The doIT manages a local Windows Update server for automatically deploying Windows patches.  The DST patch was pushed out several weeks ago, however, there is always the possibility that some clients didn't perform the download.

For that reason, we are advising all users to manually download and install the patch, "just in case". 

All Windows XP users should click here to download the Windows XP DST patch prior to 03/11/2007  

Save it to a location on your hard drive and double-click it.  If it tells you "...a newer or same timezone update has already been installed..." then you already had the patch -- no harm done.

Windows 2000:

As mentioned, Microsoft has decided not to release DST patches for Windows versions older than Windows XP.  This is unfortunate as there are still workstations on campus running older versions of Windows. 

Unfortunately, those users will have to manually "Spring forward" and "Fall back".  And they will have to do it four times: once for the new DST dates and again for the historical dates.

Outlook:

Outlook 2000, 2002 (XP) and 2003 users need to upgrade their copies of Outlook using the Microsoft-supplied patch in order for calendar items to function properly after 03/11/2007.  We have not found evidence of problems with versions of Office for Macintosh computers.

All Windows Outlook users should click here to visit our Outlook upgrade instructions

Microsoft has more information on the Outlook issue here (SPSU does NOT run Microsoft Exchange, so please disregard any references to it)