next topic »

[on:]

First off, thanks for taking the time to help me with this. I bought a nano off of Amazon (new, stocked by Amazon), and it came in the mail yesterday. I go to hook it up to my PC to upload the blink example, and... nothing. I get:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

Which from what I understand is the generic "hey, I'm not talking to arduino" message. First I checked to see if the right COM port was selected, then made sure that I selected the nano with the 386 chip (which is printed on the top). Then I suspected drivers, so I made sure I had the right ones from the companies website. In device manager COM4 shows up as alive and happy. I did some digging on the internet, and tried  grounding the reset pin (25 to 26) to no avail. It appears the bootloader is on there, the LED blinks when I hit the reset button. Pressing reset before upload doesn't help. Tried another USB cable, no success. Next I tried the loopback test, and got a response. At this point I'm not sure what else to do. It seems there is communication between the PC and arduino, but it's not working out. The serial communication stuff is at the default values.

I should mention that I have an uno that I use on this PC and I've never had a problem with it. Any ideas?

[Reply #1 on:]

It may have a different kind of bootloader on it running at a different baud rate.  I've seen that before from some clone manufactures.  It may require selecting a different board type from the IDE.

You could also use your Uno as ArduinoISP and just burn a new bootloader on to it to avoid all the guessing.

[Reply #2 on:]

I ordered from this guy (apocalypse evil), and I'm pretty sure it's genuine:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003YVL34O/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1PIBNNJSEEI7G

I'll give that a shot though and report back. Thanks for the reply.

[Reply #3 on:]

Alright, I loaded the correct bootloader onto the board using my UNO successfully. The LED is now blinking, presumably because it was successful. I tried uploading a sketch using the correct COM and board setting, and now I get:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

[Reply #4 on:]

I also had ordered a Nano last year from Amazon under the same product description, but from Computing Alternatives.  However, what I received was a "Nano V3.0 (Arduino-Compatible)".  Yes it says that on the board.  But it is working fine for me.

From what you are saying it seems your FTDI chip is working and the ICSP interface is working, but the serial pins to the mega328P is possibly not working.

To confirm the FTDI serial loopback working:
1) On the Nano you jumpered the RST and GND pins.
2) jumpered the Rx0 and Tx1 pins.
3) Connected up the USB to the Nano and it showed up on COM4.
4) Selected Serial Port COM4 in the IDE.
5) Opened up the Serial Monitor.
Whatever you typed in the entry window is echoed back in the window below.  This should confirm the FTDI chip is working correctly.  Also for this test you should be able to choose any baud rate and it should work.  The standard bootloader for the Nano uses 57600 baud.  So you may want to try that speed for testing the loopback.

[Reply #5 on:]

Loopback: I tried the loopback again at 9600 and 57600 baud. Both returned the correct number of characters, but they were squares.

I also tried, with success, using the uno as a programmer for the nano. This makes me think that the issue may be a driver. The problem with this is that whenever I uninstall it in device manager, the next time it just auto-installs it again. I google'd that, but the top results didn't work. Are drivers a likely cause, or is it a hardware connection?

[Reply #6 on:]

You should have gotten back the same characters, so it could be the Windows drivers or the FTDI chip on the Micro is bad.

What version of FTDI driver you have installed, go to Device Manager, properties and drivers tab.

I have.

Code:

Driver Provider: FTDI
Driver Date:     4/10/2012
Driver Version:  2.8.24.0

[Reply #7 on:]

Code:

Driver Provider: FTDI
Driver Date: 1/18/2013
Driver Version: 2.8.28.0
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibliity Publisher

I'm beginning to think the USB to serial is bad, considering it programs fine when bypassing the chip. I've checked and re-checked the drivers, they are the correct ones. I ordered a new one, and if I can't get this one to work I'll just return it. Any other thoughts?

[Reply #8 on:]

Yes, I have seen others have similar problems with the FTDI v2.8.28.0  you need to remove that version and try installing v2.8.24.0 instead.

[Reply #9 on:]

XP does not make it easy to completely get rid of a device... I finally figured out how, and installed version 2.8.24.0, with the same effect. Loopback spits out garbage and it won't upload.

[Reply #10 on:]

The only other thing would be to try a different USB cable.  Otherwise I would look into seeing if you can get a replacement or refund.

[Reply #11 on:]

Try this:

http://arduino.alt245.com.ar/how-i-dealt-with-this-error/

That solved the problem in my case.

[Reply #12 on:]

Thanks for the help guys, but I'm pretty sure it was a defective unit. Returned the old one and another is on the way.

[Reply #13 on:]

Got the new unit today, apparently it is a Chinese knockoff (http://imall.iteadstudio.com/im120411003.html). Still getting the same error. As with the last one, when I do the loopback all I get are squares back. I've tried both versions of drivers, so I'm pretty sure those are right. Holding reset doesn't help. Any other ideas before I just return it and get one from another store?

[Reply #14 on:]

I tried uploading from a third PC running Windows 7 and... it worked. I'm totally confused now. What could be causing the discrepancy? It's obviously PC specific. I'm running XP, could that have anything to do with it?