I can wait...but I think I have yet another issue entirely. I installed Windows on this system and made it dual boot, then installed Atmel's AT89ISP software. I coded up some simple test code that should toggle P1.0 on/off as some test code -

		org		000h
		ajmp		START

START:		setb		P1.0
		acall		Delay
		clr		P1.0
		acall		Delay
                ajmp            START

Delay:		mov		R0,#0FFh
		mov		R1,#0FFh
C1:		djnz		R0,C1
		djnz		R1,C1
		ret

                end
 

In the chip list I select AT89S8253 (which I did install the driver for from Atmel's page), select LPT1 as the programmer port, initialize the device, then try to write to the device. I then do "autowrite" and it fails the verification, and the chip still comes up blank when I read it back. On the fuse bit settings I select SerPgmEn and click "Write", but nothing happens when I do that and the fuse bits are still unprogrammed when I read back the fuse bit settings.

When you first program these chips when they're brand new, do they have to be parallel programmed first to enable fuse bit 4 before you can program them via ISP or something? Or does the issue lie with the parallel port itself?