Thanks for the help on configuration bits. The secret was to use TWO underscores in front of the config command [ __config NOT _config). Using the & symbol allows combining the choices and saves doing hex math. My current problem is trying to program the 16F84 using the Charles Manning programmer that is sold by DIY kits with assembler output from the Microchip assembler. I am getting error messages that say invalid file. I have tried using the *.COD file and the *.HEX file and both have the same error. I tried renaming the *.COD file to *.COD (to match the extension used by the Charles Manning assembler but this did not work. Is there a way to get this to work or do I need to get another programmer and/or programming software in order to use the Microchip assembler? Thanks again for all your help, Brooke Clarke