More than 1 million small and medium-sized businesses have elected to play a game of Y2K roulette, choosing to troubleshoot the bug after Jan. 1, and only when things break, according to several industry studies. Most assume their businesses are immune, or any Y2K-related trouble will be fairly cosmetic — and they may be right, some experts say. But others warn that some owners underestimate how much their businesses rely on computers, particularly embedded chips, the peskiest of Y2K issues. And that miscalculation could cause the surprise millennium bug meltdown.

THE EXPLANATIONS FOR the “fix-on-failure” strategy being employed by 1.5 million businesses, according the Small Business Administration, are wide-ranging. It’s human nature, it’s a sensible business decision, it’s “head-in-the-sand” thinking. But there’s little disagreement that millions of small businesses have elected to be reactive, rather than proactive, to Y2K. GartnerGroup says 50 percent aren’t ready; The National Federation of Independent Business says 1.25 to 1.5 million  haven’t done anything for Y2K; the Small Business Administration is offering Y2K loan co-signing, but only 80 companies have signed up.