How to Archive Programs on TI-84 – Step-by-step process

Do you fear losing your data from the Ti-84? Do you know you can save your favorite programs on your graphing calculator without the fear of losing them? For this, all you need to do is save those data in the archive memory and not the RAM. Before we head on to the steps on how to archive programs on Ti-84, let me first guide you through the differences between Archive and RAM.

TI-84 Archive vs RAM

• The Archive Memory in your graphical calculator is capable of storing apps, images, groups, pics, programs, or other similar variables that have not yet been archived. On the other hand, RAM stores lists, variables, programs, computations, and data.
• The data stored in the RAM of your Ti-84 are at risk of being lost in case of battery death or in case you drop it accidentally. However, similar cases have near to no impact on the data and other variables that you have archived.
• Having a lot of programs on the calculator means that you are probably running low on the RAM, whereas the Archive can hold up to 3.5 MB of data in its space. With such a huge space of up to 216 apps, you are highly unlikely to need more of an archive space.
• However, the only downside to archived programs is that they aren’t executable. You will need to unarchive them to be able to execute them.

Now that you are well aware of the main differences between Archive memory and RAM, let us go through the steps to archive data on your Ti-84 graphics calculator and other corresponding models.

How to Archive Programs on TI-84?

Step 1: Click on the [2nd] button and then hit on the “mem” button which is labeled as [+]. This will take you to the “MEMORY” screen which will have multiple options for the actions you would want to perform.

Step 2: Scroll to the ‘5’ number, i.e. the “Archive” option by pressing on the down arrow [v] key. Select the fifth option and click on the [enter] button.

Step 3: Now you have to click on the [prgm] button and you will be able to see a list of “Programs” that are available in your Ti-84 Plus to be archived.

Step 4: Scroll to the option you want to archive and click on the [enter] button. 

Step 5: Press the [enter] key again to complete the process of archiving the selected program. You will be able to see “DONE” for the program on the display.

Step 6: Press the [prgm] button again to see the list of all “Programs”. Here, the archived program will have an asterisk (*) mark in front of the name.

Voila! You have now successfully archived your important program which is now safe in your Archive memory.

What would you do if you wanted to execute these archived programs? Well, you will simply have to unarchive these before you try to execute them. Follow the below steps to unarchive the archived data in your Ti-84 Plus CE.

How to UnArchive Programs on TI-84?

Step 1: Press the [2nd] button and then the ‘mem’ button with the [+] sign on it. 

Step 2: On the MEMORY screen scroll to the 6th option “UnArchive” and hit the [enter] button.

Step 3: Click on the [prgm] button to be able to view the list of “Programs” that can be unarchived.

Step 4: Scroll through the available options to select the program you want to unarchive and click on the [enter] button.

Step 5: Now, click on the [enter] key again and the selected program has now been unarchived. 

The unarchived program can now be seen without the asterisk mark in the displayed list of “Programs”. These programs(without the asterisk sign) can now be executed on your graphing calculator.

Final Thoughts

I hope this article has helped you on how to archive programs on Ti-84 and similar models. You are now also aware of the differences when you save your data in Archive memory or RAM. Follow the steps above and secure your data to be able to use it on the go by simply unarchiving it later when required.