Trying to use avrdude.exe but window closes imediately

[AFR2013]

When I try and run the avrdude.exe from C:\ARDUINO\arduino-1.0.5\hardware\tools\avr\bin directory the dos window opens and immediately closes.

If I try  RUN then CMD and select the path dos window stays but I can't get to run the program in terminal mode. It just gives me the list of options and closes.

Running windows XP.

[JohnHoward]

console apps typically will give you that 'help' display when you omit the minimum required (or provide invalid) command line parameters.

So it sounds like you just need to supply the -t option and the name of a configuration file (based on what I see when I tried to run it myself.

[SirNickity]

avrdude is a command line application.  If you double-click on it, it'll run with no parameters, which (as JH says) usually spits out a "you didn't do it right -- here's the usage:" page and exits.

Correct way is to open a command prompt window, navigate your way to the directory (or add it to your path) and run it by name from there.

[westfw]

avrdude is a command line application.

Not only that, but it's a UNIX-style command-line application.  So it expects all of its arguments on the command line; if you run it with no arguments, or not enough arguments, it will just spit out a relatively unhelpful message (hey, it's traditional!) and quit.

A useful avrdude command line looks like:
/Applications/arduino/Arduino-1.5.2.app/Contents/Resources/Java/hardware/tools/avr/bin/avrdude -C/Applications/arduino/Arduino-1.5.2.app/Contents/Resources/Java/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf -q -patmega32u4 -cavr109 -P/dev/tty.usbmodemfd3131 -b57600 -D -Uflash:w:timer1.hex

You could try http://blog.zakkemble.co.uk/avrdudess-a-gui-for-avrdude/

[SirNickity]

And in typical Unix fashion, the official documentation takes a good reading to understand.    Don't expect to skim to the first example command line and be able to take off running!