Alright - that is the exact process I have repeated about ten times ( the beginning steps ) this time i deleted the ISP and downloaded it again just in case, same issue. When I try to upload the ISP sketch to my Arduino this is the error message I receive:
In file included from C:\Arduino\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/Arduino.h:213,
from ArduinoISP.pde:56:
C:\Arduino\hardware\arduino\variants\standard/pins_arduino.h:41: error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant
C:\Arduino\hardware\arduino\variants\standard/pins_arduino.h:42: error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant
C:\Arduino\hardware\arduino\variants\standard/pins_arduino.h:43: error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant
These errors are BOTH on the Arduino IDE AND on Atmel Studio, so I am pretty sure that the code is the source, since the same thing is occurring on two different development environments. I never thought burning the bootloader could be such a huge hurdle to overcome. If anyone knows how to get past these errors or just another way to burn the bootloader - it is much appreciated - thanks a ton!
If it is really that much simpler to use a programmer I would consider purchasing one, but I need to get this to work first to see if its even an option I should consider. Does anyone have insight into the pros and cons of getting on of these as well?
Thanks again