Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!uokmax!d.cs.okstate.edu!drd!mike
From: mike@DRD.Com (Mike Rovak)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Chip question
Summary: Aha!
Keywords: backup frequently
Message-ID: <1990Dec11.143344.21688@DRD.Com>
Date: 11 Dec 90 14:33:44 GMT
References: <7FAF2E7DE000201F@gacvx2.gac.edu>
Sender: Mike Rovak
Followup-To: comp.sys.handhelds
Organization: DRD Corporation
Lines: 44

TDSTRONG%MTUS5.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (Tim Strong) wrote:
} >...
} >Imagine my surprise the next day when TETRIS ran and accumulated score
} >without displaying any falling pieces.  Likewise, PUZZLE24, which I thought
} >was an RPL program, failed to run and required a system halt (ON-C) to return
} >to the stack display.  I looked at the INIT subroutine, and it had some
} >intersting and rather large binary integers and Externals in it, which I
} >could have sworn were not in the original code.  I immediately and without
} >question nor further debate executed the three-fingered salute (ON-A-F) and
} >cleared memory.  Reloaded from a good backup, downloaded what was missing,
} >didn't do anything questionable or anomalous, and voila, everything works
} >and memory is intact (then I made yet another backup).
} 
} I think I know why the RPL TETRIS sometimes corrupts memory.  I have found
} that TETRIS needs a binary wordsize of 64 (to be safe).  If the binary wordsize
} is not 64 the game acts as you descirbe corrupting itself and heaven knows
} what else.
} 
} The moral is if you want TETRIS on your machine and you play with the
} wordsize on your calculator alot add the following program to your TETRIS
} directory and run it instead of TETRIS:
} 
} << 64 STWS TETRIS >>
} 
} 'RUNTET'
} 
} STO
} 
} Hope this helps!

Thanks, Tim.  Your theory matches the observed facts.  When AS48 aborted,
the word size was left as 16 since the locals saved at the beginning of the
program got killed and never were recalled and reinstated.

I find it comforting somehow to know that in this particular case, there
was a logical explanation.

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