18F2431 won't program or erase.

[mister_e]

OK, it's really easy.

1. You need to read your datasheet to find those MCLR, PGD, PGC and Vss pins.

2. place some jumper from the PICSTART ZIFF on the pins# you find and send them on the same pins on your PIC

3. Once the PIC is programmed, just remove the wires.

Not much. The only Extra hardware you have to add, is a 10k resistor+whatever diode on the MCLR pin. If the PGM pin of your PIC is already loaded with something it will work case not, just place a pull-down resistor on it. 10K work great

well it's a variant of something like the following taken on the melabs website...
<img src="http://melabs.com/images/icsp1.gif">

Source and more explanation here

in the past i did few adapter using some 40pins DIP socket. you make 1 of each different pic size (8,18,28,40, etc)

Also handy to use something like...
<img src="http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=163&d=1104851398">

if you want to avoid this 'plug/deplug' dance.

Have fun!

[HenrikOlsson]

Keith,
Glad to here it's finally working, great!!
Let's see what the upcoming firmware does. Perhaps it will let us avoid the resistor. I think we can call this issue resolved, at last.

Steve,
Thanks a lot for the ICSP info, I will try it out next time I'm on a non-bootloader-able PIC.

Thank you both!
/Henrik Olsson.