Hi, Kristin;
the flashing asterisk is intended to announce low battery condition. Anyway, after dropping AND stop working, it seems to me a cleanning procedure will "keep the ghosts away".
Remove the batteries and clean each one with a soft, dry peace of anti-static fabric OR use any other static-safe cleanning procedure. Of course, batteries are composed by metal in the outside, and static will not remain there. I'm worried about your hands and fingers, because you'll have to hold the batteries to insert them back, right? q;^)
You can also clean the battery contacts of the calculator (inside the battery compartment) after removing the batteries. They demand more care. I remember reading that isopropyl alcohol (is it spelled correctly?) is a good choice, but I am not entirely sure. Anyway, moysted material are mainly less static-conservative than dried ones.
I hope you have your "babe" back to work. And you're right: you don't know how much you care for something until you loose it... or think you have.
Success.
Luiz (Brazil)
Edited: 11 Mar 2004, 5:59 a.m.