Hi everyone,
It's my first time with a standalone ATmega328P. I once tried to use MPLAB X IDE (with XC8 compiler) to generate .hex files and then use Avrdude in the Terminal (I managed to learn it somehow through some tutorials). My first try was a blink program on pin PD7. It worked but was slow... Then i tried the function:
#define F_CPU 16000000UL (because I intend to use a 16MHz crystal oscillator)
At first I wasn't aware of the importance of the "fuse bits" stuff. I would just go on to obtain a .hex file with MPLAB X and flash it right away on the microcontroller through USBAsp. It seemed to work well... Only to realize the true problem later.
Then, after careful assessing, I decided instead to use the Arduino IDE for my project in order to simplify things (assuming that I'm not yet ready enough to go beyond as I realized that I still don't have enough of the required skills to bridge the huge gap), so I planned to flash my ATmega328P with an Arduino Uno bootloader through the Arduino IDE. Now appears the following error:
avrdude: error: program enable: target doesn't answer. 1
avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
this check.
-Checked the connections multiple times: nothing wrong
-Tried the -F option: only to get additional errors (the "expected signature" error, and with the microcontroller's signature changing whenever i try this -F option)
-Tried the -B option with various numbers: changed nothing
-Tried to use the "MiniCore" in Arduino IDE: changed nothing
Meanwhile, as long as the ATmega328P is powered, the previous PD7 pin blink program is still and always running.
-Tried to use "Arduino as ISP" as a programmer (I have an Arduino Mega 2650): only to get the "not in sync" error
-Tried to once again flash the last .hex program from MPLAB X into it through USBAsp: changed nothing, still the same error
-Tried to short the JP3 jumper on USBAsp: changed nothing
-Tried to update USBAsp firmware (the german one): changed nothing
-Tried to use another USBAsp with the original chinese firmware: changed nothing
(Anyway, there is no need of any driver in order to use USBAsp on Linux, which makes my case different from Windows users)
Then, after further Internet browsing, I became aware of the importance of the "fuse bits" stuff
-Tried to remove the 16MHz external oscillator with the associated capacitors: changed nothing
-Tried to put back the 16MHz external oscillator with the associated capacitors: changed nothing
-Tried to reset the fuse bits from avrdude: changed nothing
-Tried to erase the microcontroller: changed nothing
And as usual, as long as the ATmega328P is powered on, the previous PD7 pin blink program is still and always running.
I spent several days trying to solve this issue, but I haven't yet found any solution to get out of this situation. I just can no longer program the microcontroller. So I am wondering:
-Is my ATMega328p dead? (then why is it still endlessly running the previous PD7 pin blink program as long as it is powered on?)
-Does it have anything to do with the MPLAB X IDE that I used earlier?
-Is there still a way to save it? To reset the "fuse bits"? To flash the Arduino bootloader into it?
-Is there anything wrong with the USBAsp?
If my current microcontroller is really hopeless and nothing can be done to save it, I still have one new remaining ATMega328p as a spare. I don't want to waste it with any of my previous mistakes so I want to fully understand what did I do wrong and what should I've done instead from the beginning
And one more thing: once the Arduino bootloader is flashed, can I still use the USBAsp to upload Arduino sketches into my ATmega328p microcontroller? If I can, then how should I proceed? (Considering it's the only way that I currently have to program my microcontroller on the breadboard)
Any help about my case would be greatly appreciated
/MaverickRF
(My setup: Ubuntu Mate 18.04, MPLAB X IDE v5.45 (XC8 v2.31), Arduino IDE 1.8.9, Avrdude 6.3-4, USBAsp_V3, ATmega328P PDIP variant)
