Mathematica Troubleshooting Guide -- PART II

Stopping a Runaway Process

Try to abort the process using the ``Abort Evaluation'' command in the pull-down menu under ``Kernel'' at the top of the Mathematica notebook or by holding down both the diamond(or Alt) key and the period simultaneously. If the process still hasn't stopped after a minute or two and a few abort attempts, try ``Quit Kernel'' (under the same ``Kernel'' pull-down menu).
If the above fails, kill the Mathematica notebook from windows. You will LOSE everything you have done since you last saved your work. To kill Mathematica, while on the background screen, hold down the left mouse button and highlight ``KILL''. Release the button and then click on the window you wish to kill.

Some of this information may not work (or may change) due to the different windowing options. If you can't stop the process from within Mathematica (first two items above), you should probably ask the lab assistant for help.

Corrupted notebooks

If the notebook looks weird when you open it (messed-up fonts or typesetting), exit without saving and delete the ``.m'' file. Mathematica will create a new ``.m'' file the next time you open the notebook. (This problem typically occurs if you copy a ``.m'' file from another computer system.)
There is a Mathematica module which can partially open corrupted files. To use it, do the following:
(1) Start Mathematica.
(2) Open the notebook "/usr/dept/mathematica/corrupt.nb"
(3) Change the line "Insert file name here" to the FULL PATH of the corrupted notebook.
(4) Evaluate the cell

Built-in Mathematica Help

Help Browser
The Help Browser is in the Help menu at the upper right corner of the Mathematica notebook. When the Browser opens (it may take a little while), you can browse through the index to find the command you want (if the index doesn't show up, click on ``Built-in Functions'' and/or widen the window). Most commands have Examples which you can Copy-and-Paste; you can find these examples by scrolling down the page and clicking on the triangle to the left of ``Further Examples''.
The ``?'' Command
If you know the command (for example, ``FindRoot'') but need a reminder of the syntax, you can use the command-line shortcut for Help, which consists of a question mark followed by the command itself (for example, an input cell containing ``?FindRoot'').

Other Tips

Different computers have interchanged functions for the ``Alt'' and Diamond keys. If one of these doesn't work as expected, try the other (but save your work first, just in case).
Check that your functions have been defined correctly before attempting to plot them. If you have defined f[x_]=x^2, then executing a cell containing ``f[3]'' should return a ``9''.
Make sure that everything you define starts with a small letter, to avoid conflicts with built-in Mathematica functions and constants.
When you download a notebook from Netscape, give it a different name. This may prevent you from accidentally overwriting your work with a blank notebook.

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