I don't know about bootloaders, but there are status bits that are set
on reset, and using them you can tell what kind of reset you've just
experienced. In addition, I think some registers might have different
values depending on POR or MCLR.

Josh
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rad0 wrote:
> I think the data sheet tells you to take mclr to ground, to reset the pic,
> true?
>
> if so, what is the difference between doing this and recycling the power? or
> is a reset exactly the same as powering off then on?

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