My screen is black after putting in new batteries. the screen lightening button does not seem to be working. is there a way to reset the calculator?

I think your keys still work, but you need to adjust your contrast. To adjust the contrast by lightening the screen, press and release the "2nd" button and hold the down arrow. Reply back if this doesn't work. Hope this solution helps!

Hello,
Hope is what keeps the world turning.
Clean the electrical terminals even if they seem shiny. Use a clean eraser tip of a pencil.

Insert the main batteries.
If you see the line again, press [CLEAR] to see if it disappears.
Try resetting the RAM by pressing [2nd][MEM][7:Reset][1:All Ram][2:Reset] [ENTER][ENTER].

If screen is too light or too dark, adjust the contrast:
Press [2nd] key and release it
Press and HOLD Arrow (UP to darken, or DOWN to lighten) the screen.

If that does not solve the problem you may have to force the calculator to boot up. Details are in the article . Read the part on Ti83Plus family.
The article contains links to additional articles.
Hope it helps.

Try adjusting the contrast. It may be too dark. Turn the calculator on press the 2nd key and the down arrow. This is how to adjust the contrast and will lighten the screen. You can darken the screen the same way, but use the up arrow instead.

Could be the screen has been dimmed so much that you can't tell that it's coming on. Press on and then 2nd button and the up arrow key. You may need to keep pressing 2nd and up arrow key. This is how you darken the screen. You can also lighten the screen which may be the problem you have by pressing 2nd and then the down arrow key.\

If this doesn't work, take out the internal battery that is located in a tiny door with a screw right above the 4 AAA batteries. Leave this out for about 8 hours and put it back in. Put in the AAA batteries and the calculator will be reset and may work.

Could be the screen has been dimmed so much that you can't tell that it's coming on. Press on and then 2nd button and the up arrow key. You may need to keep pressing 2nd and up arrow key. This is how you darken the screen. You can also lighten the screen which may be the problem you have by pressing 2nd and then the down arrow key.

If this doesn't work, take out the internal battery that is located in a tiny door with a screw right above the 4 AAA batteries. Leave this out for about 8 hours and put it back in. Put in the AAA batteries and the calculator will be reset and may work.

Could be the screen has been dimmed so much that you can't tell that it's coming on. Press on and then 2nd button and the up arrow key. You may need to keep pressing 2nd and up arrow key. This is how you darken the screen. You can also lighten the screen which may be the problem you have by pressing 2nd and then the down arrow key. This is how the contrast is controlled on your calculator

If this doesn't work, take out the internal battery that is located in a tiny door with a screw right above the 4 AAA batteries. Leave this out for about 8 hours and put it back in. Put in the AAA batteries and the calculator will be reset and may work.

Reset by pressing the 2nd button, then the plus button, then 7, then 1, then 2.

Your contrast has been darkened. You can lighten the contrast by pressing the 2nd button then the down arrow key until the screen gets lighter

OMG THANK YOU SOOO SOOO MUCH

i had borred my friends ti-86 and when school finished i forgot to return it. i ended up leaving the calculator in my car where the sun fried the battery.
3 months later i brought new batteries and when it turned on i only saw black and i started to freak out thinking i had to buy a new one..

ONCE again thanks for the solution

Batteries:
Make sure to replace the "battery backup" too the little lithium ion battery

Try Adjusting contrast:
Hold down "[2nd]" key press up or down arrow repeatedly to lighten or darken contrast.

First attempt reseting:
Step 1: Remove all the batteries
Step 2: Hold "Clear" key down
Step 3: Still holding "Clear" key reinstall batteries
Step 4: Still holding "Clear" key press "On" key until home screen is displayed.

Second shot reseting:
remove all batteries including lithium ion (backup battery), wait 3 hours and reinstall batteries.

Third Shot reseting:
Step 1: Remove a battery
Step 2: Hold down "DEL" key reinstall battery
Step 3: Possible msg pops up saying "Waiting ... Please install software" IGNORE msg and take out battery again
Step 4: Reinstall battery do not hold down "DEL" key

reseting will cause the handheld to loose all of its stored memory.

Hope that helps!

http://oakroadsystems.com/math/ti83oops.htm#Lines

ok guys, after about 10 years of not using my ti-83, i put the new batteries in and got the black screen you are all talking about.. came to this site.. saw no solutions.. kept looking.
I've fixed my calculator, but my brain won't tell me exactly how.. but i followed those instructions..
you CAN see what is on your screen if you tilt it under the light ... just fiddle around until you can see faint writing on your screen under the black.
Press window

i have these entries in my calculator
xmin=-10
xmax=10
xscl=1
ymin=-10
ymax=10
yscl=5
xres=2

then go and press second and the down arrow to lighten your screen. it should work.