Possible Now() function error

[Ponderosa]

I occasionally use and old version of Excel (version 5a) which dates to the early 1990s. It works fine for most of my needs but I have recently encountered a possible error in the way it reads the computer's clock. I am currently using this program on a Windows XP computer.

When I use the NOW() function, it returns a time about 2 hours and 13 minutes early. When I use a similar function in Microsoft Works it returns the time correctly.

Example:
in Excel NOW() = 40482.6890
in Works NOW() = 40482.7737

Is this a known issue with Excel 5a or a hardware compatablility issue with the XP operating system?

[MarvinP]

Hi ponderosa,

Excel version 5.0a support ended when Office 97 shipped back in Nov of 1996. Things have changed a lot since then. I don't believe 5.0 was even tested for the Year 2000 compatibility. I wonder if the interupt calls they used back then are even close to the same in the modern windows computers?

Upgrade needed?

[Ponderosa]

Marvin,

Thanks for the quick reply. You are probably right. It's time to upgrade!