Modifying EPIC.INI for problems with FLASH MCUs

On some computers, you may encounter intermittent problems when attempting to program Microchip's FLASH devices with the EPIC™ Programmer using EPICWIN software.  Users of meProg software should not attempt these modifications.

These changes should only be made for the FLASH parts, which are denoted with an "F" in the device number (16F877, 18F452, etc.)

These parameters may be changed to suit your computer.  This is accomplished by editing a file called EPIC.INI, which is found in the directory where your EPIC software is installed.

Open the file in a text editor such as Wordpad.  If you use a word processor, make sure you save the file as plain text.  Depending on the software you use, you may have to select "plain text", "ASCII", "text only", "unformatted text", or other settings that won't add formatting information to the file.

The information in the file is grouped according to the device part number.  Each Microchip MCU has a group of parameters that represent its programming specification.  

The parameters that control the erasure and programming of the chip may be increased for slower, more reliable operation.  These parameters are named ProgTime and EraseTime.  Increase the value of these parameters, then save the file and restart the EPIC software.  Don't increase the values beyond 20000.

Below is an example of a change for the PIC16F877.  The EraseTime has been increased to 20000.