The Ultimate TI Calculator FAQ - TI-82

by Patrick Davidson ( pad@ocf.berkeley.edu) - Return to FAQ index - Return to my main page
  1. Which shell should I use? How do I use it?
  2. How do I found out my ROM version? Which ROM versions can I run asm programs on?
  3. What should I do if I have ROM version 19.006 (or some other unsupported version)?

Which shell should I use? How do I use it?

Unlike the situation with most of the other calculators, there is not one single shell which should always be used for the TI-82. All of the shells require you to send a full memory backup to the calculator to install. You can download all of these shells from ticalc.org, in the TI-82 assembly shells section.


How do I found out my ROM version? Which ROM versions can I run asm programs on?

To find out the ROM version of your TI-82, press MODE, then ALPHA, then S. The number displayed is your ROM version. To get out of this screen, press CLEAR (don't press ENTER, as this will run the self test which erases your memory).

TI-82 ROM versionShells supportedDetails
7*OS-82 only.This shell is very old and there are few programs for it.
16.0, 17.0, 18.0, 19.0All (except the special ROM 19.006 version of CrASH) These are the "mainstream" ROM versions with full support among shells. You can run any TI-82 asm program on any of these ROM versions if you install the corresponding shell.
19.006ACE, SNG, speical ROM 19.006 version of CrASH This newer ROM version is only supported by newer shells. If you have this ROM version you will be unable to run many older programs that haven't been updated to support them.
Anything elseNoneIf you have any other ROM version, there are no shells available and therefore you can't run any asm programs on yoru calculator.

Other than asm program compatibility issues, it does not matter which ROM version you have.


What should I do if I have ROM version 19.006 (or some other unsupported version)?

If you had ROM version 19.006, you would once have been unable to run assembly programs. This is less of a problem now as some shells that support ROM 19.006 have now been release, as described earlier. Unfortunately, many programs have not been updated for the newer shells, so having this ROM version greatly limits what you can run.

ROM versions earlier than 16.0 are very rare, but if you have one, you probably have an even worse problem. ROM version 7* only allows running the very old OS-82 shell and the other pre-19.0 ROM versions can't use any shell. The TI-82 scene is rather inactive these days so updates to handle these old, rare ROM versions are unlikely.