fx-9750GIII Storage Memory Crash
Posté le 26/10/2020 10:10
Updated in 2023-12-7 UTC+8
Introduction
In August 2020, I encountered the problem on my fx-9750GIII where I couldn't use my storage memory. Later, I found that a file with impossible name "僂ASSE.g1m" appeared in my calculator stoarge and couldn't delete it in any available ways. After investigation it's confirmed that this file was originally "-CASSE.g1m" from Calcraft. The reason of having a Chinese character is that the hex code of "僂" is the combination of the hex codes of "-" and "C".
Affected models
Possibly all USB Power Graphic 3 models
- fx-9750GIII: CalcLoverHK,
PhantomOverrideAlpha,
laomo,
0070,
zhuchaokn
- fx-9860GIII:
yukki410
- Graph 35+E II:
yet to be seen
Characteristics
- Unable to modify the storage memory (even "Initialize All" won't work)
- LINK app shows error "Data conversion failed."
- Windows reports error 0X8007045D (I/O device error) when attempting to modify the storage content
- (Uncertain, happened once) A file with impossible name (e.g. 僂ASSE.g1m)
Possible procedures
1. Install
C.Basic for FX (important as while it's possibly the main cause, it's also used to execute the workaround syscall below)
2. Create a new program file in
SMEM mode and save it without typing anything, then re-open the file
OR open an existing file in
SMEM mode
3. Type something randomly and delete what you've exactly typed (even typing and then deleting a single letter works, just make sure the final modified file is exactly the same as the original one)
4. Save the file by pressing [EXIT]
5. The moment when you get a "Can't delete file" error pop-up with error code -6 is where this bug is triggered
At first it seems like nothing happened after the error, but as the time passes under normal use, C.Basic starts to pop up the same error more frequently and eventually even a modified program with a single letter added can't be saved.
Reasons
Deducing from the error description ("Can't delete file"), it appears that C.Basic saves a file by deleting the original file first and creating another one with exactly the same content as the modified one. If there is no actual change in the latter one however, C.Basic may confuse between both files and thus being unable to delete the proper file, while forgetting to change the Bfile status from "file opened" state to "ready" state.
However, such problem also appears in other users' GIII calculators without C.Basic, and the reasons for them are unclear.
Workaround
Warning! This method can only be used on the USB Power Graphic 3 models!
Kudos to yukki410 for discovering this method!
Execute Syscall(0x205) in C.Basic and restart the calculator.
Edit (2023-12-7):
I did more tests on this bug after Sentaro21's return on C.Basic development. Unfortunately, the SMEM on my fx-9750GIII is now permanently unusable without C.Basic after initializaing. Somehow it successfully deleted the whole memory while keeping the SMEM in the locked state. Nevertheless, it confirmed a few things.
> This bug can happen even under C.Basic's default settings.
> You may notice a significantly slower speed of saving program while repeating the procedures.
> Suprisingly Syscall(0x205) becomes one of the main causes of this bug. If you manage to trigger the bug using the workaround/still fail to access SMEM after doing it, DO NOT initialize the whole calculator and keep it as is. C.Basic is probably your last resort to dodge this problem.
If you have any other method to solve this problem, feel free to post it here! Thanks for your help and also @Lephenixnoir @Yatis for helping me tackle the problem ever since the encounter of this bug
Citer : Posté le 11/04/2024 11:11 | #
Ok so, I have tried all of the resets, the deleting memory and stuff also did the software update. nothing has worked. With the deleting the apps and stuff I.... deleted the geometry and python thing which... i had stuff in. Still cant open E.ACT (i says storage memory full). the PRGM works, the preinstalled games wont delete and still work. I dont know what is wrong something... it deleted geometry but not the other games
Citer : Posté le 11/04/2024 11:12 | #
nope, i still get the data conversion failed thing when i connect to pc (why did i try that again XD)
Citer : Posté le 06/06/2024 11:06 | #
anything new leph?
Citer : Posté le 06/06/2024 11:10 | #
Not much happened no... I reiterated that this was an issue to CASIO executives in a meeting earlier this year. But due to how rare the problem is, I'm not very hopeful about them being able to reproduce it and provide a recovery mechanism.
Just to summarize where we're at, I currently only have one idea about how to fix this, which is to use the Fugue low-level format function. But the menu where you used to be able to access it doesn't exist on the G-III and I don't know where that function is in the OS, so that'd take a significant amount of reverse engineering.
Citer : Posté le 12/06/2024 08:04 | #
im pretty sure they can reproduce it by downloading a bunch of stuff from here (terrario, wolfenstein, fruit ninja g-dash, and a bunch of other stuff). wow how did i get my calculator in this mess
Citer : Posté le 01/08/2024 10:35 | #
any luck lephen...?
Citer : Posté le 01/08/2024 14:45 | #
I haven't touched this subject since last time, as there are not actionable leads currently. :x
Citer : Posté le 02/08/2024 11:47 | #
ok.. ill just come by once a while to see see you in maybe a couple months
Citer : Posté le 04/09/2024 22:38 | #
Lephen, are there any things i can test that may help you find leads?
Citer : Posté le 05/09/2024 07:44 | #
You can try and look for ways to reset the filesystem as hard as possible from the calculator. If you're willing to take a light risk, you can also try and reformat the drive from Windows. I don't know if that's supported; if you try that, to be on the safer side I recommend just using the default format feature of Windows and not external tools.
Citer : Posté le 14/12/2024 08:19 | #
hi again lephen! any updates? is this problem widely spread or just a few people have it?
Citer : Posté le 17/12/2024 19:19 | #
Hi, on the positive side I haven't seen any other reports of this. I haven't been working actively on the issue, but I do have some new tools now (from other projects) that could help me find the "low-level format" function if it still exists on the G-III.
I'll try that. Please ping me in like two weeks if you haven't heard from me