Hello,

I just compared a generated hex file (used for programming) to a read hex
file (retrieved from a PIC). They were identical (that was good :) but in
order to verify that the configuration bits are identical, I had to do that
manually, nibble by nibble, doing some bit arithmetic in my head -- because
the hex file used for programming contains the unused configuration bits as
1, and the hex file read from the device contains the unused bits as 0.

How do you deal with that (when/if you have to)? It seems that every header
file I've seen so far defines the unused bits as 1. And every data sheet I
can remember says "read as 0" for unused bits. So every hex file generated
for programming is different from the hex file retrieved from the device.
Can I set the unused bits to 0 in the original hex file? I seem to remember
something along the lines of "leave them alone" (which would mean "leave
them at 1"), but I can't remember where and why. 

If that's not an option, does that mean that normal hex file comparison
tools are not really that useful in this scenario? MPLAB probably
disconsiders the unused bits correctly when verifying, but that doesn't
help me much when I want to compare two hex files -- unless I first program
a chip with one file, and then verify the chip against the other file.
Seems a bit, hm, odd... :)  Any tricks or solutions? Or just every now and
then some bit arithmetic?

Thanks,
Gerhard

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