Our calcs aren't safe anymore...
To fix this?

An assembly program that emulates the homescreen and memory menu (OS version check).
And the left-right-on combination results in the same effect, but only until another key combo is pressed.

I'm sure the restrictor mode won't be a problem for long...

Or just put in an OFFSCRPT that looks for a certain key combo, & if pressed, un-does the disable.

You can't do that. The disabled state is stored on the certificate flash page. Only the OS (and the few people who have managed to hack it) is allowed to write there.

Well all you need to do is unlock the flash. But even then The programs are still there just write a way to use them with out the OS.

All right, so is it not possible to simply unarchive programs from the homescreen and then run them, or do we not have access at all to flash in lockdown mode?

Also, is it possible to create new programs while in lockdown, and if so, would it not be possible to type in opcodes and assemble a program to unlock the flash?

It would seem that TI has some sort of plans to allow some programs to be locked and some to not be locked (as pressing PRGM takes you to a new menu that looks like a standard PRGM menu, but it has a different menu id.)

Well, as long as you can get code to run, it's doable...just getting code to run is hard(er)

As I've found out, all programs are indeed locked; you can't run anything, ASM or BASIC.

Well, even in lockdown mode, you should still be able to read from flash (note: I have not tested this, I'm just guessing.) So...you could still copy to RAM, yes.

I thought OFFSCRPT had something to do with running a program at startup...

Well, there is an ONSCRIPT too, but it seems to not work well. So we use OFFSCRPT for this purpose. Sounds stupid, but works well!

I downloaded the new OS (2.40) onto my 84+ SE a few days ago and I see no difference in this one and the last one...other than that weird restricted feature...

umm, was there ever a time that there was something cool that was added?

Yeah. 68k calculators.

Forget the 68ks, they're good enough already!
Wonder if it's possible that TI will make all the extra RAM on the SE's available within their next 10 OS.

They can't do that without breaking compatibility with ALL assembly programs and apps already in existance. The only possible way for them to do it is to make them look like volatile archive pages.

Is there a way to default to the original pages unless otherwise specified, like the SetSpeed thing(i wouldn't know of course but...) And perhaps its better to break this compatibility and start over?

"And perhaps its better to break this compatibility and start over?"

No. Imagine getting your brand new calculator, coming to ticalc.org, and finding that none of the programs worked. Would you be happy with TI then?

Well.. of course, you would never have to get the new OS and then, people might start to make new and better progs. There was always a first time in which there wasn't any progs yet. There isn't even that much useful progs anyway unless you use your calc like a pocket PC or something.

See, what really annoys me is that for almost all the Zilog Z80 calcs, TI never increases thair RAM. Now, with the 84 and 84SE, it has over 400 terabyts, but still it has about the same abount of RAM as the 73. Is this some restriction of the Z80? Because the 84+se has 128k of RAM, but only 24k is availabe. Surely the OS doesn't use 100k of memory.

Exactly.

The Z80 in the calculators can only address a 64KB memory map. The first quarter section (16KB) is permanently ROM page 0 and the second quarter is where Flash Apps and OS ROM pages are loaded. The last 32KB are addressed to RAM, but the OS uses both of these 16KB RAM pages for everything TI-OS (flags, ramCode, stacks, etc). If you were to swap in one of the unused RAM pages ones into either RAM slot, you'd lose either your VAT/stacks or your system flags/data. So, like Andy said, the only way to support extra RAM would be to map the second quarter of 'ROM space' with a RAM page. But then, the OS couldn't use any routines because all the OS code is also swapped into that second quarter of ROM. You can have one or the other, but not both (and the TI-OS is what makes your calculator 'work'!).

Also, Apps like Omnicalc and Emu8x _temporarily_ swap in RAM pages into the RAM slots, but they must restore it to the original page before they quit to the TI-OS or a crash would be imminent. It's how TI designed their OS...

Actually, I think that the OS only reads 2 pages (32K) like the normal 83+ and ignores the rest, only using them perhaps during the USB thingy. But, point taken.

Well, he's entirely right, so I'm not sure if an "actually" fits there. You are correct about what the OS does, but Andree was saying what you do to actually use the extra RAM.

Oh, whatev
It just comes to: TI sucks and should do some "useful" programming

Yeah: The asymptote checking in 2.30.

Hehe, should get my math teacher to upgrade his calculator while everyone else has 83+'s, should cause some confusion with his calculator not showing those asymtope lines :D

I'm gonna stick with 2.30 until no such "damage" (or whatever you call it)... well, nevermind that.

What I mean is that since TI didn't release such minor and/or major features and/or information about 2.40, so... oh well. Again, I'm gonna stick with 2.30. And I agree that they should update TI-89 Titanium's OS... but wished I knew what to suggest.

Ultra_64

Thats exactly what I would do, but if you dont update, you might have your calculator reset when it comes to tests :S

No offense, but why do I need to reset my stuff whether deciding to upgrade to 2.40 from 2.30 or not? Again, TI has not released info. on the stuff about 2.40, so... I don't see any reason of updating from 2.30 to 2.40.

Ultra_64

Yeah, I noticed that as well. On the OS download page, there are hardly any features whatsoever. I guess, on the plus side for TI, not mentioning any features at all gives them reason not to mention lockdown mode.

I think he meant that calc-unfriendly teachers would clear the memory before a test because they wouldn't be able to lock it down.

Has anyone ever had a problem updating their TI-89 Titanium from 3.01 to 3.10? When I did to mine, it froze when progress was about 90%. Then I was trying to update a friends SW with my 89 Titanium and it did the same thing.

Well it could be that your battery level is too low to write to flash. When the batteries are too low, either your calculator won't turn on, or it will turn of and then display a "BATT" sign in A_REVERSE in the status bar.

I looked in the catalog and there are 2 new functions:

x˛GOF-Test(
and
invT(

Unfortunately, these are stat functions, which I don't know how to use, and I'm not taking stat this year. :(

If anyone has found anything else it can do, please post!

Those are in 2.30 also.

Oh. I have 2.21.

good excuse

Is 2.21 better?
(faster graphing, no restrictor mode,...)

The difference in graphing is barely noticable, but it's nice not to have restrictor mode.