I should have mentioned that I have tried doing a bulk-erase on the=20 header (Debug -> Erase) and both the ICD-2 and the Real-ICE say "successful= ". I did discover something, though. I'm currently using the MCLR pin=20 as a digital input. This pin is normally LOW and goes high only when=20 a specific input signals one of the fault conditions. Allowing MCLR to go high allows the header to be programmed. I'm not=20 sure why that is - I know that earlier ICD headers had problems with=20 MCLR and pin RA1 but I didn't see any warnings or limitations to that=20 effect when selecting both the chip and the debugger. However, I still can't get into debug mode. The build configuration=20 is set for debug and, although I have configuration bits CP, WDT &=20 PWRTE enabled in my code, MPLAB is nice to me and mentions that those=20 bit settings are not compatible with the ICD header - and graciously=20 sets those bits correctly when I go to program the header. I did=20 check the configuration bits after MPLAB changed them and they do=20 appear to be set correctly. I'll keep plugging along. But please keep those tips and suggestions=20 coming - it really does help. Many thanks! dwayne At 12:27 PM 11/25/2013, Matt Bennett wrote: >On Mon, November 25, 2013 11:55 am, Dwayne Reid wrote: > > The error is that the first location is not programmed correctly > > (desired value (something), read-back value is 00). > >When it reads back all zeros- that's usually a sign it isn't getting into >programming/debug mode. #1 tip (see more below)- check the that VPP is >getting through. Try a bulk erase on the part which would clear any >inadvertent copy protect and restore the part to as fresh as possible. The >bulk erase is a separate action in the ICSP world- as close to a complete >wipe as you can get on a PIC. --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .