Hi Phil: You found it. I had commented out the bcf PORTB,7 but NOT the preceding code related to testing for it's need causing the btfsc STATUS,Z to skip over the crucial instruction movf PCLATH_TEMP,W which causes a lot of program damage. THANKS very much, Brooke Clarke -- w/Java http://www.PRC68.com w/o Java http://www.pacificsites.com/~brooke/PRC68COM.shtml http://www.precisionclock.com -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist