I've been struggling trying to program my ATMEGA168 from my serial port for over a month now and my AVRISP MKII just came in this week, manufacture date of 20071030. Now I'm getting the flashing orange light that seems to be quite common lately. After doing hours of research and following just about every thread on the subject and finding that about the only thing that might work besides the stars and planets being aligned is to put a pullup on RESET.
How do I implement the pullup on RESET that I've read so much about? Do I just connect the resistor between Vcc on the chip and RESET or do I have to go from my +5V? My knowledge of electronics is beyond pitiful, so the simpler it can be put the better (pictures are good).
Thanks