Backing up ATMEGA8 Program/Data?

Other Hardware 3rd Party Boards
1

Dear experts,

I have a circuit built around an ATMEGA8. I would like to backup the program and data stored there. Is that possible?

I thought of simply removing it from the circuit and inserting it into an arduino board (I have an duemilianove). Is it possible to read out the memory from the chip and dump it into a file and flash it back into a new chip, just in case the current one goes dead? Or would I need an external programmer or maybe do it with a breadboard an the read out the data through an arduino?

(That has happened to me recently, It's an power supply with an ATMEGA8, which really has gone dead somehow, at least the program didn't work as expected suddenly and we had to send it for a costly repair) and all they did was to replace or re-flash the chip.

Thanks for your help!

2

Only way I know is to use a AVRISP Mk2 programmer to read to data from the chip in avrstudio en store it like that.

3

Thanks for the hint, jacqueskleynhans!

I also noticed an 6 pin connector (2 x 3) labeled "USB" on the PCB, but apparently no interface chip as eg on the arduino board. Could I make any use of it or are there too many flavors of programming an ATMEGA, that I'd have big chances to kill it?

Thanks!

4

Using avrdude you can read the EEPROM and FLASH.
Or with SinaProg.

5

http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/avrreadflash

6

Which mega8 is it ? Some has on board USB so it could be one of those :slight_smile:

7

It's an ATMEGA8L-8PU

The datasheet just says in "circuit programmable", nothing about USB.

But thanks, anyway.