z80:Crashes
Crashes are inevitable. From weird glitches in the OS to half-ass games uploaded on TiCalc.org, your calculator will experience many crashes. There is only one thing you need to remember:
PDR
- Prevention: See that cool game that isn't quite finished and has "a couple bugs?" Don't! It will crash your calculator. Only download games that are finished, or have comments. Also, don't test your own "new game" on your calculator. The first time you test your game, it is practically 100% guaranteed that you made a mistake in the code. So use an emulator! Tilem, Virtual Ti, and PindurTI are all great emulators.
- Denial: If your calculator freezes, it doesn't necessarily mean it crashed. Some games will freeze up for 10 seconds and it looks like a freeze up. Finally some games are simply loading or exiting. Games like Mario take a while to load and exit.
- Respond: Once a crash is recognized, DON'T panic! The following steps should be taken IN ORDER.
- Try pressing mode, clear or enter. Then panic and press a lot of buttons. Surprisingly, I have avoided taking the batteries out by pressing buttons.
- Take a battery out and put it back in (equivalent to holding down the power button on a computer). Turn your calculator back on. I know it hurts but it is necessary if you want your calculator to live.
- Take out all batteries and let it drain itself of all life. A couple hours should do.
- If necessary, try to send your calculator back to TI if your warranty is still valid. If not, there are usually shops that can fix your calculator.
- If all else fails, get some counseling for your lost one, and try to replace it with a return or buy a new one. I know that it won't feel the same, but you do want to pass Algebra right? Remember that it's OK to cry.
Reinstalling Your TI-OS
To reinstall your OS, hold down the [del] key while you reinsert your batteries. The Calculator will then ask you if you want to continue with the re installation. Connect your calculator to either another calculator or to your computer. From the external source, send the OS to your calculator. And SHABAM! Your OS should be reinstalled. Please note that sometimes it works better if you have your calculator waiting to receive the OS before sending (ie. press "yes" on the receiving calculator first, then send from the external source). Make sure to back up your files onto a computer (archived files too) even though it often doesn't delete them. This once helped fix a problem where I removed a battery in the middle of a grouping/ungrouping process.
