Okey dokey, Have you tried increasing the delay time between writing bytes? Perhaps you've just struck one LCd that is slightly non-= conformist. For 8 bits I normally use 0x38 0x38 0x38 0x38 0x01 0x0C 0x06 colin -- cdb, bodgy1@optusnet.com.au on 10/11/2002 -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics