I haven't needed the warranty since my TI-89 has worked perfectly ever since I got it. (Perhaps this is because I don't use ASM programs very much...)

The TI89s are VERY stable calculators, perhaps to the superior processor. I've never had an ASM program create problem I can't fix. On the other hand, I've seen the 83+ OS corrupt itself many a time without any ASM programs ever installed, these type of problems are fixable, though.

I owned(lost one) both an 83 and 89. The os in the 83 often corrupts itself into putting a dot at the bottom of where the axes are, even after you turn them off. I had to reinstall the sw code

I've had the TI-83+ crash too on random occations with only the OS installed. The TI-89, I had crash that way once from a bug in the way the TIOS handles split windows. I agree, the TI-89 is way more stable than the TI-83+, but it's still not perfect.

Bugs like that are fixed in the OS upgrades.

I've pnly had too problems with my 89, one forced me to call tech support. A BASIC prog I made (pure BASIC) managed to continually crash my calc after I ran it a few times. I had to do a very thorough reset. Another problem was that the batteries always read as almost dead. Even on fresh store bought ones. I managed to get it to reloade to OS by taking advantage of the time delay between battery status updates. Other than those two software related incidents, I've drop my calc on to pretty hard floors, some times intentional to prove its versitility, more than 50+ times and I haven't had one single problem.

Three of my friends' have had their z80 calcs seize up - first they only turn on to a dark blank screen; after two days of battery-pull they work briefly but then relapse to a random-pixel pattern covering the screen and total non-use. They've used their warranties...

That happened to me a couple times... the first time I sent it in, but the second time they told me how to fix it, read my post below.

What z80 calcs? 83+? 86? 82? Strange...that's never happened to my 83+ or 86...

The 86 is a nice calc. My math teacher won't let me use my 89 in pre-calc, but most of the features I use are available on the 86... which he allows.

The 86 is a GREAT calc...doesn't have any of those wierd bugs in the OS...

Nope, I've never seen an actual broken calculator in my day. Not even out of anybody in school. I've seen calculators tossed around, stepped on, spilled on with soda... I've seen tons of reckless stuff regarding calculators, but i've never actually seen one break.

Except for link failure, I've never seen any hardware damage, and thanks to the GRAPH-LINK and 2nd-LEFT-RIGHT-ON I've always been able to fix a corrupted TI89. z80 calcs are a different story, but I've had about 90% success fixing them, too. Fixing calcultors is a big business at my school, I've actually made some significant money on it (all spent on soda, of course).

Mine was run over by a car (and still worked).

I auctualy am getting ready to send in my calculator. My 83+ seems to not like me to make or even use programs. It resets not 2 minutes in to doing any thing that has to do with a program, and I haven't used an ASM program in a long time.

Read my post below, it's not the same problem, but I've seen other calcs do the same thing and the method I described below works on their's too.

my fisrt silver got messed when i tried to send a new OS to it, so i just told TI that it broke for no reason and they sent me a free one!

now my silver(second one, lol) is sitting with the lithium out as i type
it kept spazing out, so if this doesnt work im sending it in...again

-jordan

REMOVING THE BATTERY WILL NOT RESET THE OPERATING SYSTEM OR FLASH MEMORY

If you have access to another calculator (83+ or +SE) you can do [2nd] [LINK] and select "SendOS" while the calculators are linked to re-install a OS.

You can also use the graph link and start the OS send using the computer.

To force your calculator to recieve a OS:
1. remove a battery
2. hold [DEL]
3. insert the battery
4. calculator will prompt for software to be installed
-- how to send --
5. Press [ENTER] to start the other calculator sending
6. If needed select "Continue" on your calculator
7. wait a long time (usually ~20 min.) and it will go to 100%
8. turn on your calculator
9. RAM will be cleared
(done)

If you still can't figure it out:
Call 1-800-TI-CARES and tell them you need help re-installing the operating system.

Awesome survey, Brian Kim!

My TI-83+ corrupted once after playing some scorched earth type game... I'm sure some of you have seen this, the calculator will turn on and off, and everytime you turn it on there's a random pixel drawn somewhere on the screen, and the calculator doesn't respond to any input. I sent it in and they gave me a new one. About a month later it happened again, and 1-800-TI-CARES told me to take out a battery, put it back in while pressing CLEAR, and to continue holding CLEAR until I press ON. Apparently that completely restores the FLASH memory to the last OS upgrade installed. Since I learned that I've saved over a dozen people from sending their calc into TI, and made a dollar off ever person past the second.

Here's to rambling!

That happened to me also, but my friend figured out the on thing accidentally, so I didn't use my warentte.

I believe the 89 has something similar to that as well: you take a battery out, and put it back in while holdin [ON] and [(]...I think that's right

On the HW1 calcs that is true, but on HW2 2nd-LEFT-RIGHT-ON is the replacement, which also removes the step of taking a battery out. The only time I've ever taken a battery out is to replace it.

I've had my HW2 calc crash on shutdown at which the [2nd]+[Left]+[Right]+[On] combination didn't work. I pulled the battery and replaced it and it seems to work now.

That 'ON' and '(' thing DOES work on the HW2's...I just wasn't sure when I posted that because I couldn't remember if it were ')' or '('. So THERE! j/k ;)

Really? Interesting. I know the manual says that but the manual was made for HW1... oh well, if it works, it works!

Too my knowledge, BOTH those combinations work on both HW1 and HW2. 2nd-Left-Right-On is a "soft" reset (in AMS 2.0x+ you don't lose your archive), but doesn't always work. (-On while putting the battery in is a "hard" reset, and will reset your archive in 2.0x and works in almost every case. Beyond that, remove every battery, leave them out for a while, then use (-On. If it STILL doesn't work, then things aren't too good for you.

Additional notes: on the TI-89 HW1, if a OS transfer fails, it must be re-initiated from the computer (or maybe only early versions of the 89, as I got one the first month they were out). Newer versions can re-transfer from a calc or the computer.

I WOULD have used my warranty, but it was WAY past. At the end of school, my batteries were almost dead, but I didn't replace them because I didn't need them. A few months later I got it out again, and the batteries had leaked into the case. It did some funky things (I can't remember exactly), then died. I tried for a few months every thing I could think of that could help (including TI-Cares, but they just told me the (-On thingy), but nothing worked. Eventually, I just gave up, took the thing apart, and mutilated the insides. The screen did funny things when I hooked power up directly to it!!

The first time my 89 had a fatal crash was running edit 3d, and i didnt understand what "Illegal Instruction" meant. Unfortunately, i didnt know the 2nd-l-r-on method, so i tried taking the battery out and putting it back in, but nothing happened! Then i got clever and realized nothing, especially an 89, would be built without some sort of failsafe, so i looked for the most special key, which i decided was "on", and held that as i took the batteries out and put them back. And that worked fine. Now when it crashes i use 2nd-l-r-on, but sometimes that wont work, and i use the "on" holding method. To my knowledge you do not need to hold any key other than on when pulling out the battery and it will reset.

I had the problem where I did hit the 2nd-L-R-On key sequence, and it didn't do anything. I took out all of the batteries and it didn't do squat.

I had batteries forcefully explode in the back of my HW2, so life was bad for mine. I had to get a new one as mine is 2 years old.

On a roughly similar note, does anyone know what the "self test" does, other than display a counter and clear your memory? I've never had the patience to wait and see if the counter stops after a while.
On the TI-82/83+, the self test is started by pressing Mode, Alpha, S, Enter.

It's the same on the regular 83.

I had that happen and I couldn't reset it by doing that or any other of the reset things they told me.