tiggerthehun Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Hey again all! Hope you've had a happy and safe Independence Day thus far! Everyone still have all their fingers? Anyway, this is just something I was wondering about the other day... Now, please keep in mind, I'm an IDIOT. I can diagram sentences, I can explain Shakespearean metaphores, but I don't get the "computer logic" thing AT ALL. Why, upon frying, can you play Pitfall with an all black Harry? Why would that happen? Just curious. Maybe it's something that is unexplainable. And, I imagine it's bad for your Atari 'cause it'll mess up the power switch? Thanks, all! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 I'd imagine after FRYING you'd be black too tigger!!!!! I mean those pans are damn hot son!!!!! (Can you tell I dunno!!!) I did discover "frying" on my own back probably the first year I got my Atari... Which was also the first year they were out. I was messin around back behind the TV and acidently hit the AC adapter causing my game of Space Invaders to reset and act all funny like. After that I realized it could be done from the power switch!! WooHoo!!! Still..... I dunno why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARIPITBULL Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Can't that hurt your 2600 system, or the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerthehun Posted July 4, 2002 Author Share Posted July 4, 2002 Yes, I've heard it's bad for your system - so, no, I don't do it... Tho' I've got an extra Atari that has a pretty crappy picture - so if I was to try some frying, I'd do it with that one. Hmmm - might not want to say that in mixed company... "Yeah, dude, the other night - man, I was really frying - there were colors man - everything was all messed up - walls MOVED man! It was weird!" Quick trip to the slammer, that'd get ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble Kale Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 The way I see frying works is thus: As the cartridge initially loads up, and the program starts, things are put into the memory. When the system 'goes down' (ie: the power flicks on and off), parts of the memory get wiped, and other parts don't. When you finally allow the system to load properly, you'll get 'memory artifacts' which are parts in the memory from previous loads that may be out of place in the program. As such, you get weird things turning up, when parts of the program are in different areas of the memory than expected (or values are different to those expected). I'm probably wrong, but ... (Oh, and tigger, you're not an idiot. Not everyone has a technical aptitude, and the fact that you're showing an interest in finding out shows that you've got the brains ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerthehun Posted July 4, 2002 Author Share Posted July 4, 2002 Kale - thanks! That makes sense to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turnspike Posted July 5, 2002 Share Posted July 5, 2002 The way I see frying works is thus:As the cartridge initially loads up, and the program starts, things are put into the memory. When the system 'goes down' (ie: the power flicks on and off), parts of the memory get wiped, and other parts don't. When you finally allow the system to load properly, you'll get 'memory artifacts' which are parts in the memory from previous loads that may be out of place in the program. As such, you get weird things turning up, when parts of the program are in different areas of the memory than expected (or values are different to those expected). I'm probably wrong, but ... (Oh, and tigger, you're not an idiot. Not everyone has a technical aptitude, and the fact that you're showing an interest in finding out shows that you've got the brains ) Wrong or no, that's the best explaination of "frying" I have heard thus far. My brother and I started frying our system soon after our parents let us play the system unsupervised. We thought it was neat when the adapter plug sparked when you yanked it out of the 2600. When we accidently fried a game messing with the plug, we thought it was the coolest. My favorite as a kid was frying Video Olympics. You couldn't really play it, but the results were cool bug-like graphics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viso Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 From what I understand, Kale has half of the frying explination. The other half is that, without a circut known as a brown-out reset, a CPU running on some, but too low a voltage, acts like it is on drugs. So, while the memory isn't able to properly maintain its contents, the CPU keeps trying to run the program. The important part here is that the program doesn't start running from the begining after proper power is restored. If that happened, no frying effect would occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 I think that's mostly right. The way I see it is thus: Capacitors take time to discharge current. When you turn off the VCS, the capacitors don't immediately run out of current, and thus, power is still available to the CPU and RAM for a very brief period (we're talking milliseconds, here). As the current drains, the contents of the 2600's RAM clears as it looses current. However, if you're quick enough, you can flicker the power such that current does not completely discharge before being replenished. This partially clears the contents of the VCS' memory. However, it isn't enough of a power drainage to completely reset the processor, so the program keeps running with a partial program. An alternative theory would be that "frying" creates a power spike that partially scrambles the contents of the RAM. Consider again that, since the capacitors take a brief period of time to discharge the current, cycling the power very rapidly would supply a fresh current before the capacitors have had a chance to fully discharge, thereby creating a miniature surge, which would account for the scrambled nature of "fried" games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 This is all very interesting. It makes me think of something I've observed on the 7800, an apparent "residual memory" effect. If you are playing a game on the 7800, and you turn off the system just as a sound is being played, that same sound will play briefly when you turn the system on again, even if you've inserted a different cartridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elektro Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 I've never personally tried to fry my systems, as I could never bring myself to possibly hurting one of them (mostly because I know how heartbreaking it is to find an Atari only to discover that it had died). Has anyone tried this on any other systems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Tails Prower Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 Frying temporarily modifies the game's writing so that certain frying tricks can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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