38 replies to this topic

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

My calculator Refuses to delete anything and wont reset after I go to to initialize all are there any suggestions.

update:now it says card error

Edited by PhantomOverrideAlpha, 22 October 2020 - 11:56 AM.

[CalcLoverHK]

Do you have any file that has the abnormal name in your calc? Connect it to your PC to check if files like this exist. Mine also encounters this problem and now the whole storage memory is unusable.

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

what do mean by abnormal? I only installed a addin call GintCTL which wrote a address to the system but I dont know how to undo that.

[Lephe]

Abnormal like files with names that are not valid in the encoding of the calculator.

 

I'm sorry that this happened to you. I have run hundreds if not thousands of bogus gintctl versions on my calculators (included many with the bug you experienced) and never locked the filesystem on any of them. All the filesystem management is done through Bfile. I do believe this add-in is not responsible.

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

Ok so is their anyway to fix it

[Lephe]

Depends on what the problem is exactly; there's no way to conclude without more details.

Easy resets include the back RESET button, the SYSTEM app's Initialize All and a full OS reinstall.

 

If none of this works then there's something abnormal in the storage memory that needs to be found. CalcLoverHK has a file with an impossible name that seems to confuse the file system implementation a lot, and we don't have a solution for that yet. Your specific problem might be different, though.
 

Did anything unusual happen before the problem appeared? Did an add-in fail to save a file to storage memory? Anything of the sort?

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

Yes when I was testing the insight and after that it stop allowing resets restarts to do anything

[Lephe]

Do you mean the INSIGHT add-in by Simon Lothar? I recall it has storage-memory-related functions but these have been designed for the older file system, they will not work on a GIII. On my Graph 35+E II it just shows an error saying it can't find the storage memory (which is because the format has changed).

 

Did you run any test or perform any modification to the storage memory through INSIGHT?

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

No I went to uninstall the add-in and it stopped letting me delete anything after that

[Lephe]

Well, in any case the most you can do right now is find out what went wrong in the storage memory. Although even then, modifying it (for instance with C.Basic) is still quite dangerous, and if you don't have any add-ins installed you'd need to use the upload-and-run command of the OS update mechanism which makes it a nightmare (and also something no one has done before to my knowledge).

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

so how do i do that

[Lephe]

That, obviously, is the million-dollar question. I'd like to know, but we've had only one previous case of this, and that is CalcLoverHK's impossible file name problem.
 

You can diagnose that by plugging your calculator into a computer and using any tool of your choice to inspect the exact bytes in the filenames. The encoding for these filenames is called FONTCHARACTER, and you have the table here : https://bible.planet...aracter Set.pdf.

 

Look for invalid single-bytes or invalid two-byte sequences.

[laomo]

My calculator Refuses to delete anything and wont reset after I go to to initialize all are there any suggestions.

update:now it says card error

 

Hello,

 

I also met this problem in recent days. I cannot delete all the thing in Storage Memory. It is so strange that I can not figure out which part go wrong.

I have posted this problem: https://community.ca...not-changeable/

 

When I tried to delete or modified some file in Python mode, it said the data is protected. And I enter the eActivity and it said the Storage Memory is full.

I have tried to RESET the Addin and Storage Memory, after it finished and I enter the File Manager, the SMEM is EMPTY, but after I pressed the RESTART button, the file all back.

 

when I connect to PC and open with DiskGenius and tried to deleted some file, I got an error message: Sector error.

obviously, format the USB Drive on PC seems not realistic, but I cannot find another solution for this...

 

[laomo]

Depends on what the problem is exactly; there's no way to conclude without more details.

Easy resets include the back RESET button, the SYSTEM app's Initialize All and a full OS reinstall.

If none of this works then there's something abnormal in the storage memory that needs to be found. CalcLoverHK has a file with an impossible name that seems to confuse the file system implementation a lot, and we don't have a solution for that yet. Your specific problem might be different, though.

Did anything unusual happen before the problem appeared? Did an add-in fail to save a file to storage memory? Anything of the sort?

I got this problem after I deleted something on C.BASIC, after that I found the Storage memory is unusable, it is like all the file were frozen. I can't modified anything whatever on PC or built-in file manager.

[laomo]

Do you have any file that has the abnormal name in your calc? Connect it to your PC to check if files like this exist. Mine also encounters this problem and now the whole storage memory is unusable.

Hello,

May I ask you what you have done before that problem raised?
I'm not sure what is "unusable" mean, is it can't modified anything? or somehow the Storage memory is not accessible. My case is the former.
my friend told me that you can try to remove the battery of the calculator and wait a few days. I don't know if it make sense, but I will have it a try tomorrow.

[HappyCalc]

my friend told me that you can try to remove the battery of the calculator and wait a few days.

The calculators use a flash, not a CMOS chip.
So it wouldn't help much, to just remove the battery. Old devices (or your computer's BIOS) use CMOS chips to save data. They will lose all their content if you disconnect the power and therefore need a backup battery or a capacitor. A flash also loses data, but the data will rather be obstructed. Also it takes some years until that happens.

[laomo]

The calculators use a flash, not a CMOS chip.
So it wouldn't help much, to just remove the battery. Old devices (or your computer's BIOS) use CMOS chips to save data. They will lose all their content if you disconnect the power and therefore need a backup battery or a capacitor. A flash also loses data, but the data will rather be obstructed. Also it takes some years until that happens.

I think you are right, the flash chip does have to take a few years or more to lost content.

[HappyCalc]

You could try to erase the flash (dangerous! you may make the calc unusable by erasing the boot sector) and reflash the OS. It's just an idea, please ask an someone else who knows a bit more.
Here is a tutorial from planet casio to install another system on the calculators. But this tutorial may not work because you have a GIII.
https://www.planet-c...h75.html#141499

[laomo]

You could try to erase the flash (dangerous! you may make the calc unusable by erasing the boot sector) and reflash the OS. It's just an idea, please ask an someone else who knows a bit more.
Here is a tutorial from planet casio to install another system on the calculators. But this tutorial may not work because you have a GIII.
https://www.planet-c...h75.html#141499

fxRemote is not available in GIII, the reason maybe the FA-124 is not used to connect the GIII to PC, GIII use the USB flash mode just like using a USB storage.

[HappyCalc]

Although even then, modifying it (for instance with C.Basic) is still quite dangerous.

What about using simple BFile Syscalls in C.Basic?

[HappyCalc]

fxRemote is not available in GIII, the reason maybe the FA-124 is not used to connect the GIII to PC, GIII use the USB flash mode just like using a USB storage.

Go to Link
Set Cable to USB
Press F2
Now FA-124 should work

[CalcLoverHK]

Hello,

May I ask you what you have done before that problem raised?
I'm not sure what is "unusable" mean, is it can't modified anything? or somehow the Storage memory is not accessible. My case is the former.
my friend told me that you can try to remove the battery of the calculator and wait a few days. I don't know if it make sense, but I will have it a try tomorrow.

 

"Main memory" flash is still usable but "Storage Memory" is not.

 

It was happened when I saved the changes in text file in C.Basic (it is one of Calcraft files IIRC) and later when I saved other files C.Basic poped save errors occasionally and frequently as the time passed, and eventually completely unable to save the files in Storage memory. Later I connected my calc to PC and found out there is a file with impossible character that should have not been existed in Fugue flash as it was not supported.

 

For now this file still exists in my storage memory, and the problem hasn't been fixed yet. Overall, while I can still access and run the files in storage memory, I am unable to edit them.

[CalcLoverHK]

https://www.planet-c...ion-thread.html

 

@laomo or, it may be because I transferred that file (-CASSE.g1m) to my storage memory.

[Lephe]

Regarding the OS replacement method. You don't have to use fxRemote nor any third-party OS install tool. With the G-III, there are official update programs that will run an OS update and reinstall the system. This is one of the first things I would advise to try, since it's very safe (official program and everything).

 

You can download such update programs on CASIO's official website.

 

As far as I am aware FA-124 will not work because the LINK application automatically configures itself to use mass storage on the G-III. The only way to use Protocol 7.00 would be the 3-pin connector, but this part of the LINK application only accesses the main memory.

 

On the fx-CG 50 there is a debug menu from which you can reformat the filesystem. There are both a "logical format" and a "low-level format". Yatis, which is probably the most knowledgeable person regarding that filesystem, has in some occasions been able to use these formatting options to fix filesystem oddities.

 

The normal way to access this menu, until the G-III, was to hold down OPTN+EXP+AC/ON at startup, and on the popup the appears, press 5, 9, 6, 3 (in sequence). I think this shortcut doesn't work on the G-III anymore, the sequence might have changed. If you can install files, we might be able to write an add-in that prompts this menu.

 

In addition to all of that, if you can look at the files and try to find any anomaly (like CalcLoverHK's impossible file name) it would help in understanding these issues more broadly.

[HappyCalc]

@Lephe
laomo said he has C.Basic. according to Simlo's Syscall List, 0x176 starts Diagnostic mode (on gii) so maybe

SysCall(0x176)

could work?

I'm sorry that i don't own a 9750GIII, i'm just giving ideas that are working on other and could work there.

[Lephe]

Yes this is an excellent idea! Using C.Basic to start a syscall like this would be perfect. Syscall 0x176 however is the diagnostic mode, which IIRC is the screen you get with OPTN+EXP+AC/ON followed by the sequence F1, 9. It's not the screen that gives you access to the filesystem format.

A while ago Yatis made an add-in that opens another debug menu. This one doesn't have the filesystem format either, but finding it should be possible. I'll ask Yatis when I get the chance. Maybe the syscall that formats can be used directly, too. Or the function can be called directly even if not a syscall, provided the binary for the exact OS version can be inspected.

 

Important question for Iaomo: what is your OS version (SYSTEM menu, F4: VERSION)?

 

I have tried to RESET the Addin and Storage Memory, after it finished and I enter the File Manager, the SMEM is EMPTY, but after I pressed the RESTART button, the file all back.

You have to turn OFF the calculator (SHIFT+AC/ON) because some information related to the storage memory is actually in RAM, and RAM is only saved when you turn OFF the calc. It's well-known as a way to restore programs deleted on accident in PRGM.

 

You could try to erase the flash (dangerous! you may make the calc unusable by erasing the boot sector) and reflash the OS. It's just an idea, please ask an someone else who knows a bit more.

Reflashing the OS does not rewrite the filesystem in general, so it will likely not fix it directly (nor restore it if you erase it). Also, never ever try to erase the first few sectors of the ROM as they hold the bootcode that is needed for the OS update to work at all, or you will end up with a pile of plastic with a blank screen!

[HappyCalc]

Yes this is an excellent idea! Using C.Basic to start a syscall like this would be perfect. Syscall 0x176 however is the diagnostic mode

Oh sorry, i meant 0x924. 0x176 awaits OPTN EXP AC/on to start.

Reflashing the OS does not rewrite the filesystem in general

I meant if you can't specifically clear the filesystem couldn't you clear the whole flash (except the bootloader, i hope) and then writing the OS back onto? (OSError Screen)

Edited by HappyCalc, 16 September 2021 - 05:27 AM.

[Lephe]

0x924 might be it. I haven't tested it right now but it may have said format option, that would be my best hope right now.

 

I meant if you can't specifically clear the filesystem couldn't you clear the whole flash (except the bootloader, i hope) and then writing the OS back onto? (OSError Screen)

Well, unfortunately no. This is because the OS update would not recreate the filesystem, thus leaving you with an OS and nothing else. A filesystem can never be just a bunch of a zeros on a Flash, it needs some initial structure or it will never work. This is what the format is for. I'm afraid you would just run into a large number of problems as the OS itself would not be able to work unless a filesystem is available.

[HappyCalc]

I went into a similar problem on my cg-50
I was trying to use BFile SysCalls in C.Basic because C.Basic file access doesn't work correctly. I created a file, wrote some data to it, my program had an internal error so it crashed. The file I created couldn't be deleted or opened Not by C.Basic nor by the System File Manager. The actual problem was, that the file was not closed because of the crash. On the 9860gii all files are closed when leaving. But the cg50 seems to have a descriptor table that persists (maybe because of fugue?). So I just needed to close it (first handle is 2^24)

[Lephe]

That's a pretty important piece of information! Thank you very much for sharing it. I had not considered it; I remember the OS would go crazy if all file handles were used with the previous filesystem, but I didn't make the connection that it could happen here as well. We'll see if some of the users with storage memory problems can solve them like this.

 

For the handles we know the full format (Yatis does actually) so we could probably brute-force a little bit even if the descriptors left open are not exactly 2²⁴.

 

There are still rare cases of users with a bricked filesystem and no available tool to run native code, but one step at a time is still great.

[yuuki410]

Good news!
 
I executed this code with C.Basic on fx-9860GIII:

syscall(0x205)

it raised a system error. After it rebooted C.Basic wouldn't run anymore, but I could edit the file system, so I immediately executed Reset1.
 
===
Syscall List: https://bible.planet...call/index.html
 
===
 
Edited: If you executed this system call but nothing happen, DO NOT execute it second time, if you do that, something that you unexpected will happen.
I just experienced it, I executed some system call for several times and made file system into a trouble situation until this dialog box displayed:

Edited by yuuki410, 21 January 2022 - 05:20 AM.

[Lephe]

Excellent!! That's quite random, but more options is always good. CalcLoverHK has C.Basic on his calculator, maybe the same calls could help.

[CalcLoverHK]

Good news!

 

I executed this code with C.Basic on fx-9860GIII:

syscall(0x205)

it raised a system error. After it rebooted C.Basic wouldn't run anymore, but I could edit the file system, so I immediately executed Reset1.

 

===

Syscall List: https://bible.planet...call/index.html

 

Thank you so much!! This actually works and my calc no longer stuck at 2363392 bytes of storage memory x)

 

https://ibb.co/zQSBX2Z

 

Although at first it didn't do anything but just returned 0 without raising the system error, and I still couldn't delete the problematic file, I pressed the restart button and tried optimization and oh boy, it suddenly works! I immediately knew that the problem is fixed because I tried many times of optimization before and all returned "Memory Error".

 

It's ultimately fortunate that both of us have C.Basic installed as it can do syscalls which is probably the only easy way to fix this problem.

 

Anyways, thank you for your helpful information! This flash problem that lasted for 15 months in my calc is finally resolved.

[PhantomOverrideAlpha]

Ok kinda dumb question just how do you execute syscall on the calculator

[Lephe]

You need to use an add-in. Either a hand-written one (but that doesn't work because you couldn't install it) or C.Basic, which allows you to execute arbitrary code, and syscalls in particular using the SysCall() function.

[CalcLoverHK]

Ok kinda dumb question just how do you execute syscall on the calculator

 

Input Syscall( by pressing ShiftVARSF6F6F5F1 in C.Basic.

0X and 0x are accepted.

[CalcLoverHK]

Edited: If you executed this system call but nothing happen, DO NOT execute it second time, if you do that, something that you unexpected will happen.

I just experienced it, I executed some system call for several times and made file system into a trouble situation until this dialog box displayed:

 

I also got this dialog box while recreating the same Fugue bug I had in August 2020 in C.Basic, but I did not use any syscall, instead I opened a text file in C.Basic, typed something, deleted exactly what I had just typed, and exited. This was rather a small problem for me though as this time I was able to initialize the flash by pressing F6, but the weird thing is, before this dialog box, I successfully triggered this bug in C.Basic and managed to get my fx-9750GIII back to August 2020 situation where I couldn't delete and edit anything in storage memory.

 

Edited by CalcLoverHK, 24 January 2022 - 01:13 AM.

[yuuki410]

I might found an reason of why file system locked:

https://www.cncalc.o...age=1#pid244556

 

That says, the OS of 98xxG3 has strict rule of file IO. If an file did not close when exit add-in, the file will remain occupied.

[Lephe]

This a fairly well-known problem; worst even at the time of the previous filesystem was forgetting to close search handles.

 

But I should mention one of the tests I did with CalcLoverHK when he was able to reproduce a similar lock was to call BFile_CloseFile() with what would be the unclosed file descriptors, and it didn't seem to work. We didn't explore it 100% though, and more tests would be welcome.