I removed the 8K expansion chip and ran TICKLR.100 (the calendar program) a
number of times, turning the machine on and off. Seemed to function without
problem so it may in fact be the expansion chip. Is there anything in these
programs, however, that would be affected by the addition of 8K (that may be a
stupid question, but I'm no computer whiz).
OK, it appears you've isolated the problem to the chip… suggest you return it
for a replacement.
There should be nothing in a program that affects a chip… there is an old
saying in computer circles that goes something like this, "Software can't hurt
hardware". Meaning, nothing you can type in will permanently damage the
computer.
Think of RAM as an empty bottle, and programs and data as the stuff you fill
the bottle with… when you add an 8K chip, you're just using a larger bottle
to hold your stuff.