Are you receiving the error message, “Please note that your computer’s system date is erroneously set to xx/xx/2011. Goldmine’s synchronization may not function properly unless the system date is set correct. Would you like to correct the system’s date now?” Does it mean that you finally must stop using your older version of GoldMine (that you have, thus far, not upgraded for whatever reason)?

As much as my sales-side would like to say, “YES! Please allow me to show you the latest version and provide a quote!” the real answer is, “NO!”

This thread was started in my forums (and a similar discourse went on in Frontrange’s official support forums) soon after the new year. Apparently, GoldMine versions 4, 5, 6 and even the early versions of 7 all have this annoying error message built in that assumes that the unfathomable date of 01/01/2011 is so far off in the future that anyone would be crazy to be using such an old program. Unfortunately, time marches on and here we are in the future, complete with the same flying car prototypes we had back in the 70’s. For those users not ready for flying cars or the latest GoldMine Premium Edition utopia, there is hope.

As discussed in the forum thread, one could use a GoldMine macro or external program to automatically hit the “NO” button in answer to the question about changing your clock settings to reflect a more reasonable date. While this can be effective, the additional work required to maintain and implement that solution for new workstations/users is not ideal for larger installations.

The best solution (originally posted by a relatively unknown 6.7 user in the Frontrange forum known only as “AHarry”) is to pull out the heavy artillery and edit GoldMine’s executable itself to not worry so much about 2011.

This is a very easy patch with any hex editor. Find a free hex editor ( I use HxD) Load GMW6.EXE and do a text search for 20101231 change the 2010 to 2020 and save the file. No more warning (at least until 2020! Of course, you should back up your GMW6.EXE file before editing.. and you do this at your own risk although it is very simple I am not responsible if you mess something up. And this also will not remedy any issues that may have been lurking that the developers felt they needed to warn against in the first place.. if there are any.

I went ahead and tried it out on GoldMine 6.70.70226 (the final 6.7 patch released by Frontrange back in early 2007) and it worked great.

If you’re on GoldMine 6.70.70226, you can download the fixed gmw6.exe here.

If you’re not absolutely sure of what you’re doing, haven’t made a full backup before trying this, aren’t on version 6.70.70226 or have any other reservations surrounding this unsupported hack, I urge you to not do it and just keep clicking the “NO” button when you startup GoldMine. If you’re feeling pretty confident about your ability to replace a file with the one in the linked-to ZIP file, go for it. Either way, I can’t be held responsible if things go terribly wrong for you after you try this.

For GoldMine 7 users, the solution is simply to get on a newer version of 7.x. If you’re unsure how to accomplish that or whether your maintenance contract provides/provided you with the rights to a newer version than 7.0.3, you will want to touch base with Frontrange support, your GoldMine support provider or me on the matter.

It’s worth noting that Frontrange have stated that they will not be releasing any patches/hacks/fixes for this error message for any of the affected versions of GoldMine.

If you need a hack/fix for a version other than 6.70.70226, you might try my industrious pal, Darren over at EnigmaWare who has gone ahead and hacked the EXE of a number of popular ancient GoldMine versions and put them up on his site for download.

Oh, by the way, you really should go take a look at GoldMine 9.0’s features. It’s the way forward for GoldMine aficionados.