In order to ensure that you are checking your Macintosh and not servers, begin this process by placing any of the icons for other machines (such as the Applications Server or your local departmental server) into the Trash. When you have finished this inventory, you may want to restart your Macintosh to reconnect servers that are available through your start-up process.

A.  Obtain information about the operating system level and RAM

1. In the upper right corner of the menu bar, click on the icon and select Finder.
2. In the upper left corner of the menu bar, click on the Apple icon and select About this Computer....
   • The box should identify the system software level (in a format such as 7.6.1). Record the information about system software level so you can transfer this information to the list you will print in step B.
     
   • Close this window by clicking on the box in the upper left corner of the WINDOW.
   • In the upper left corner of the menu bar, click on the Apple icon and select Control Panels; in the displayed list select Memory.
     • In the middle of this box the phrase Available built-in memory identifies the RAM size.
     • Record the RAM size so you can transfer this information to the list you will print in the next step; information about memory will be useful if you need to upgrade any of your software.

B.  Get a list of application software on your hard disk

1. Click on the icon for your hard disk to select it. Under the File menu, select Find. Be sure the window Find Items has on local disks selected.
   1. change name to kind by clicking on the inverted triangle and darkening this selection
   2. leave is alone
   3. change alias to application by clicking on the inverted triangle and darkening this selection
   4. Click on Find
2. Highlight all of the items in the list displayed in the window Items Found by selecting Select All from the Edit menu or by clicking on each item while holding down the shift and apple keys. Choose Copy under the Edit menu
3. Open a New document in WORD and paste (using the Paste option in the Edit menu
) this list from Items Found. Print this document so that it can be used in the next section. (Note: you may wish to save this file to add information related to your inventory of these files.) For reference, date the printed list.

C.  Find out the version of each of the applications on your hard disk

1. Return to your hard drive icon and one by one, highlight the icon of each application, and go into the menu bar and open the File menu and select Get info.
   • This should produce a box displaying information about the version number of the application on your Macintosh.
2. Write the complete version number next to the name of each application on your list (example, 6.0.1 for Word).
3. Close each Get info window (by clicking on the box in the upper left corner of the WINDOW) before trying to move to the next application.

D.  Compare your inventory with the table

Go to the Web at http://www.brown.edu/Research/Unix_Admin/y2000/Mactable.html which lists the most commonly used software.

• Compare the list of your software with this table and circle any application on your list that has a version number lower than the minimum version listed in the table.
• If you do not find the your software listed in this table, you will have to try to find it at the vendor site.
  • To find the vendor site, try a Web search (using the "Net Search" button in Netscape) on the vendor name (not product) and select the entry that appears to be the home page. Once there, use the company's search button to look for "Year 2000." Some vendors may not have this information on the Web and a call to your local sales representative will be necessary.

E.  Determine if you can upgrade to the necessary versions

For those products that are below the compliance level, check the level of operating system (OS) needed to upgrade to that version by comparing the level in the table with that you found in step A. If you are at a high enough operating system level, check your Macintosh's RAM size and available memory to see if they are large enough to run the upgraded version.

F.   Report needed upgrades

If you are unable to upgrade to the necessary operating system or your memory is not large enough to run the newer software, indicate this information in a memo to your chairperson/department head. Be sure to complete the entire inventory so you can determine the highest operating system level you will need for all the software and the total additional space required.

This completes the inventory of your Macintosh. Please keep the list and your notes in a secure place until all of your application software is at a level compliant with year 2000. At this time, it is not necessary to install the newer software; however, this must be done before the new millennium and should be arranged at a time convenient for your Departmental Computing Coordinator.