Arduino Diecimila won't Download sketchs

I've used my Arduino Diecimila for several weeks, but now it won't download a sketch from my Vista PC.

Here is what happens"

  1. On power up:
    power led goes on.
    tx and rx blink for a couple of seconds, then go dark
  2. On upload sketch:
    tx and rx blink for 10-20 seconds, then go dark
    L blinks
    No errors on PC, but nothing works.
  3. Upload again,
    L continues to blink
    PC reports "Problem uploading board"
    avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
    avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x51

How is this debugged? Should board be replaced or bootloader reprogrammed? Is it worth replacing ATMEGA168 chip rather than whole board?

Mine started to do the same thing a few days ago. It turned out there was a little strand of wire that had fallen onto the board and shorted one pin of the oscillator to ground. I have also gotten this error when the chip was not entirely inserted or inserted incorrectly. I would check these things first. You might even try taking the atmega168 out of the socket and re-inserting it to be sure. Also, did you change the usb port you were using to program? That has also given me errors in the past.

I've got similar problem and waiting for solution. will keep watching this space. >:(

Hello,
I have 4 BBB's that were doing the same thing from the moment I built them. I did a bunch of research and looked at a few forums. This is what I discovered:

The message is pretty generic and means that it didn't communicate with the board properly. In the case of the Deicimilia, which should not require a reset before uploading, the problem is a setting on the serial port.

Change this serial port setting: Device Manager -> Com Ports -> USB Serial Port -> Port Settings -> Advanced button -> Set RTS On Close"

This solved the problem 100% for me. I did note, however that others that were having the problem may have fried their boards.

Ryan

  1. On upload sketch:
  • tx and rx blink for 10-20 seconds, then go dark
  • L blinks
  • No errors on PC, but nothing works.

If the sketch you uploaded was the "Blink" sample, which many people start with, that sounds right. The blinking L is what you want.

Otherwise, I'd go with Silicon_Sandman's advice on RTS.