Obtaining daylight saving time updates for Microsoft products

In August 2005, the United States (U.S.) government passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the dates of both the start and the end of daylight saving time (DST). When this law goes into effect in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March). Daylight saving time will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November). A number of other countries have also made changes to DST start and end times since the U.S. announcement.

Microsoft is committed to assisting customers who are affected by DST changes. We are further committed to working with others in the industry to address the broader challenges presented by the U.S. statute and DST changes in other locations.

Although the impact of DST changes is primarily within the affected time zones, changes may affect users in other time zones. Systems which interact or integrate with systems that are based in the affected time zones or rely on date and time calculations may be affected.

Microsoft wants to help make sure that customers and partners know their options for obtaining available DST updates. Please review the options below and refer to the Microsoft DST Web site for the latest information:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

How customers and partners can obtain the updates:

• Microsoft products in Mainstream Support Phase

  Microsoft will release hotfixes at no charge for DST 2007 through Microsoft Update for products in the Mainstream Support phase of the Microsoft Support Lifecycle. For a list of affected products within Mainstream Support, refer to the Lifecycle support page:

  http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect/

• Microsoft products in Extended Support Phase

  Customers who are running Microsoft software that is beyond Mainstream Support but still in the Extended Support Phase, can confirm whether their product is eligible by visiting the Product Lifecycle page at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect. If the product is eligible, two options exist for installing DST hotfixes on these products.

  Option 1: Manual update option

  For some products in Extended Support, such as Windows 2000, Microsoft provides instructions about how to manually update the system by using Time Zone Editor and other techniques. Detailed instructions are documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 914387. You can also direct customers to view the on-demand Support WebCast describing the Windows 2000 update process at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930688.

  Option 2: DST update

  Customers who prefer to have a hotfix may be able to purchase DST updates for affected Microsoft products in Extended Support via an Extended Hotfix Support (EHS) contract. A single fee of $4,000 covers all available DST hotfixes for the current calendar year.

  For more information about Extended Hotfix Support, customers in the U.S. can call (800) 642-7676. Additional international support telephone numbers are available at http://support.microsoft.com. Customers can also contact their Technical Account Manager or Account Representative for additional assistance.

• Microsoft products no longer supported

  Products that have ended their Support Lifecycle are not eligible to receive support or a hotfix. Customers who are running versions of products that are no longer supported are encouraged to upgrade to versions that are supported. Customers should also review Microsoft DST Web site for the latest information:

  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

Microsoft values your business. For more information, contact Microsoft for help. A list of telephone numbers is located at http://support.microsoft.com.