I'm having trouble burning the bootloader onto an ATMega168p

tomlightyear · March 4, 2023, 5:10am

I'm trying to use an Arduino Uno to burn the bootloader onto an ATMega168p. I uploaded the ArduinoISP sketch to my Arduino Uno and then followed the following wiring diagram. The resistor is 10K, the capacitors are 22pF, and the crystal is 16MHz.

I then set the board to ATMega168P using MiniCore (GitHub - MCUdude/MiniCore: Arduino hardware package for ATmega8, ATmega48, ATmega88, ATmega168, ATmega328 and ATmega328PB) and set the programmer to Arduino as ISP. But when I try to burn the bootloader, I get the following error:

avrdude: Version 7.1-arduino.1
         Copyright the AVRDUDE authors;
         see https://github.com/avrdudes/avrdude/blob/main/AUTHORS

         System wide configuration file is C:\Users\T\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\MiniCore\hardware\avr\2.2.1\avrdude.conf

         Using Port                    : COM3
         Using Programmer              : stk500v1
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 19200
         AVR Part                      : ATmega168P
         Chip Erase delay              : 9000 us
         PAGEL                         : PD7
         BS2                           : PC2
         RESET disposition             : possible i/o
         RETRY pulse                   : SCK
         Serial program mode           : yes
         Parallel program mode         : yes
         Timeout                       : 200
         StabDelay                     : 100
         CmdexeDelay                   : 25
         SyncLoops                     : 32
         PollIndex                     : 3
         PollValue                     : 0x53
         Memory Detail                 :

                                           Block Poll               Page                       Polled
           Memory Type Alias    Mode Delay Size  Indx Paged  Size   Size #Pages MinW  MaxW   ReadBack
           ----------- -------- ---- ----- ----- ---- ------ ------ ---- ------ ----- ----- ---------
           eeprom                 65    20     4    0 no        512    4      0  3600  3600 0xff 0xff
           flash                  65     6   128    0 yes     16384  128    128  4500  4500 0xff 0xff
           lfuse                   0     0     0    0 no          1    1      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           hfuse                   0     0     0    0 no          1    1      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           efuse                   0     0     0    0 no          1    1      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           lock                    0     0     0    0 no          1    1      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           signature               0     0     0    0 no          3    1      0     0     0 0x00 0x00
           calibration             0     0     0    0 no          1    1      0     0     0 0x00 0x00

         Programmer Type : STK500
         Description     : Atmel STK500 version 1.x firmware
         Hardware Version: 2
         Firmware Version: 1.18
         Topcard         : Unknown
         Vtarget         : 0.0 V
         Varef           : 0.0 V
         Oscillator      : Off
         SCK period      : 0.1 us

avrdude: AVR device initialized and ready to accept instructions
avrdude: device signature = 0x000000 (retrying)
avrdude: device signature = 0x000000 (retrying)
avrdude: device signature = 0x000000
avrdude main() error: Yikes!  Invalid device signature.
avrdude main() error: expected signature for ATmega168P is 1E 94 0B
        Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
        this check.


avrdude done.  Thank you.

Error while burning bootloader.

Does anyone know what I can do to burn the bootloader onto an ATMega168p?

tomlightyear · March 4, 2023, 5:12am

Also, this is what I set for the clock, variant, and whatnot
Screenshot (1)

ua6em · March 4, 2023, 7:32am

there is no 10 microfarad electrolytic capacitor in the circuit

tomlightyear · March 4, 2023, 1:25pm

@ua6em Where should that go?

ua6em · March 4, 2023, 1:26pm

tomlightyear · March 4, 2023, 1:40pm

I will give that a try, thank you.

tomlightyear · March 10, 2023, 9:06pm

I tried it with a 10uF capacitor connected to ground and reset and it didn't work, I got the same error

jremington · March 10, 2023, 9:18pm

At least one 100 nF decoupling capacitor is required, as described in this excellent tutorial.

tomlightyear · March 11, 2023, 9:49pm

I'm getting stuck at the board detector part. I tried it without a crystal and with a 16MHz crystal and got the same output. It says "Programming mode off". This is what is being outputted to the serial monitor:

Atmega chip detector.
Wramming mode ....mmon.
Version 1.20
Compiled on Mar 11 2023 at 16:44:41 with Arduino IDE 10819.
Attempting to enter ICSP programming mode ....
Atmega chip detector.
Written by Nick Gammon.
Version 1.20
Compiled on Mar 11 2023 at 16:44:41 with Arduino IDE 10819.
Attempting to enter ICSP programming mode ......................................................
Failed to enter programming mode. Double-check wiring!
Programming mode off.

My wiring seems to be correct, could the chip be bad?

jremington · March 11, 2023, 10:08pm

Much more likely that the wiring is wrong. Post a clear, focused, close up picture of the setup.

tomlightyear · March 11, 2023, 10:42pm

This is my current wiring

jremington · March 11, 2023, 11:18pm

Nothing obviously wrong, although long leads to the crystal can be problematic.

The next step is to use your multimeter to check whether 5V is present on Vcc of the target ATmega chip.

You should also use it to check continuity of all connections. Breadboards are not particularly reliable, and jumper wires can break internally.

Where did you get that ATmega168 chip?

If it came directly from the manufacturer, and is genuine, the fuses will be set to 8 MHz internal oscillator, with the CKDIV8 fuse set, so the MCU clock rate is 1 MHz.

tomlightyear · March 12, 2023, 1:25am

I think it may be a problem with the crystal pins on the chip. There doesn't appear to be continuity between the chip crystal pins and the breadboard rails. I move the chip to a different spot on the breadboard and there's continuity between one of the pins and the breadboard, but not the other pin. I move the chip again to a different spot and there's continuity between the other pin, but not the first one.

tomlightyear · March 12, 2023, 2:08am

Turns out the socket I had the chip plugged into wasn't making a good connection with the breadboard. I think I got the board detection part working now

Atmega chip detector.
o bytes.
LFuse = 0xF7 
HFuse = 0xD5 
EFuse = 0xFC 
Lock byte = 0xCF 
Clock calissor = ATmega168PA
Flash memory size = 16384 bytes.
LFuse = 0xF7 
HFuse = 0xD5 
EFuse = 0xFC 
Lock byte = 0xCF 
Clock calibration = 0x9⸮
B⸮
Flash memory size = 16384 bytes.
LFuse = 0xF7 
HFuse = 0xD5 
EFuse = 0xFC 
Lock byte = 0xCF 
Clock calibration = 0x9⸮
B⸮
Atmega chip detector.
Written by Nick Gammon.
Version 1.20
Compiled on Mar 11 2023 at 20:54:43 with Arduino IDE 10819.
Attempting to enter ICSP programming mode ...
Entered programming mode OK.
Signature = 0x1E 0x94 0x0B 
Processor = ATmega168PA
Flash memory size = 16384 bytes.
LFuse = 0xF7 
HFuse = 0xD5 
EFuse = 0xFC 
Lock byte = 0xCF 
Clock calibration = 0x9B 
Bootloader in use: Yes
EEPROM preserved through erase: Yes
Watchdog timer always on: No
Bootloader is 512 bytes starting at 3E00

Bootloader:

3E00: 0x01 0xC0 0xB7 0xC0 0x11 0x24 0x84 0xB7 0x90 0xE8 0x90 0x93 0x61 0x00 0x10 0x92 
3E10: 0x61 0x00 0x88 0x23 0x61 0xF0 0x98 0x2F 0x9A 0x70 0x92 0x30 0x41 0xF0 0x81 0xFF 
3E20: 0x02 0xC0 0x97 0xEF 0x94 0xBF 0x28 0x2E 0x80 0xE0 0xC6 0xD0 0xE9 0xC0 0x85 0xE0 
3E30: 0x80 0x93 0x81 0x00 0x82 0xE0 0x80 0x93 0xC0 0x00 0x88 0xE1 0x80 0x93 0xC1 0x00 
3E40: 0x80 0xE1 0x80 0x93 0xC4 0x00 0x86 0xE0 0x80 0x93 0xC2 0x00 0x8E 0xE0 0xB4 0xD0 
3E50: 0x25 0x9A 0x84 0xE0 0x20 0xE3 0x3C 0xEF 0x91 0xE0 0x30 0x93 0x85 0x00 0x20 0x93 
3E60: 0x84 0x00 0x96 0xBB 0xB0 0x9B 0xFE 0xCF 0x1D 0x9A 0xA8 0x95 0x40 0x91 0xC0 0x00 
3E70: 0x47 0xFD 0x02 0xC0 0x81 0x50 0x89 0xF7 0x93 0xD0 0x81 0x34 0x79 0xF4 0x90 0xD0 
3E80: 0x18 0x2F 0xA0 0xD0 0x12 0x38 0x11 0xF4 0x80 0xE0 0x04 0xC0 0x88 0xE0 0x11 0x38 
3E90: 0x09 0xF0 0x83 0xE0 0x7E 0xD0 0x80 0xE1 0x7C 0xD0 0xEE 0xCF 0x82 0x34 0x19 0xF4 
3EA0: 0x84 0xE1 0x98 0xD0 0xF8 0xCF 0x85 0x34 0x11 0xF4 0x85 0xE0 0xFA 0xCF 0x85 0x35 
3EB0: 0x41 0xF4 0x76 0xD0 0xC8 0x2F 0x74 0xD0 0xD8 0x2F 0xCC 0x0F 0xDD 0x1F 0x82 0xD0 
3EC0: 0xEA 0xCF 0x86 0x35 0x19 0xF4 0x84 0xE0 0x85 0xD0 0xDE 0xCF 0x84 0x36 0x91 0xF5 
3ED0: 0x67 0xD0 0x66 0xD0 0xF8 0x2E 0x64 0xD0 0xD8 0x2E 0x00 0xE0 0x11 0xE0 0x58 0x01 
3EE0: 0x8F 0xEF 0xA8 0x1A 0xB8 0x0A 0x5C 0xD0 0xF8 0x01 0x80 0x83 0x85 0x01 0xFA 0x10 
3EF0: 0xF6 0xCF 0x68 0xD0 0xF5 0xE4 0xDF 0x12 0x01 0xC0 0xFF 0xCF 0x50 0xE0 0x40 0xE0 
3F00: 0x63 0xE0 0xCE 0x01 0x36 0xD0 0x8E 0x01 0xE0 0xE0 0xF1 0xE0 0x6F 0x01 0x82 0xE0 
3F10: 0xC8 0x0E 0xD1 0x1C 0x40 0x81 0x51 0x81 0x61 0xE0 0xC8 0x01 0x2A 0xD0 0x0E 0x5F 
3F20: 0x1F 0x4F 0xF6 0x01 0xFC 0x10 0xF2 0xCF 0x50 0xE0 0x40 0xE0 0x65 0xE0 0xCE 0x01 
3F30: 0x20 0xD0 0xB1 0xCF 0x84 0x37 0x71 0xF4 0x33 0xD0 0x32 0xD0 0xF8 0x2E 0x30 0xD0 
3F40: 0x41 0xD0 0x8E 0x01 0xF8 0x01 0x85 0x91 0x8F 0x01 0x23 0xD0 0xFA 0x94 0xF1 0x10 
3F50: 0xF9 0xCF 0xA1 0xCF 0x85 0x37 0x39 0xF4 0x35 0xD0 0x8E 0xE1 0x1A 0xD0 0x84 0xE9 
3F60: 0x18 0xD0 0x8B 0xE0 0x97 0xCF 0x81 0x35 0x09 0xF0 0xA9 0xCF 0x88 0xE0 0x24 0xD0 
3F70: 0xA6 0xCF 0xFC 0x01 0x0A 0x01 0x67 0xBF 0xE8 0x95 0x11 0x24 0x07 0xB6 0x00 0xFC 
3F80: 0xFD 0xCF 0x66 0x70 0x29 0xF0 0x45 0x2B 0x19 0xF4 0x81 0xE1 0x87 0xBF 0xE8 0x95 
3F90: 0x08 0x95 0x90 0x91 0xC0 0x00 0x95 0xFF 0xFC 0xCF 0x80 0x93 0xC6 0x00 0x08 0x95 
3FA0: 0x80 0x91 0xC0 0x00 0x87 0xFF 0xFC 0xCF 0x80 0x91 0xC0 0x00 0x84 0xFD 0x01 0xC0 
3FB0: 0xA8 0x95 0x80 0x91 0xC6 0x00 0x08 0x95 0xE0 0xE6 0xF0 0xE0 0x98 0xE1 0x90 0x83 
3FC0: 0x80 0x83 0x08 0x95 0xED 0xDF 0x80 0x32 0x19 0xF0 0x88 0xE0 0xF5 0xDF 0xFF 0xCF 
3FD0: 0x84 0xE1 0xDF 0xCF 0xCF 0x93 0xC8 0x2F 0xE3 0xDF 0xC1 0x50 0xE9 0xF7 0xCF 0x91 
3FE0: 0xF1 0xCF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
3FF0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0x00 0x08 

MD5 sum of bootloader = 0x09 0x27 0x0F 0xED 0x81 0x9D 0x43 0xF3 0x61 0x86 0x76 0xDA 0x55 0x04 0x69 0xD7 
Bootloader MD5 sum not known.

First 256 bytes of program memory:

00: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
10: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
20: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
30: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
40: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
50: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
60: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
70: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
80: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
90: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
A0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
B0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
C0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
D0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
E0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 
F0: 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 0xFF 

Programming mode off.

jremington · March 12, 2023, 2:11am

There should not be continuity between those points. Glad you got it working!

tomlightyear · March 12, 2023, 2:20am

I got the bootloader onto the chip. Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it. Now to try and program the chip.

system · September 8, 2023, 2:21am

This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.

Topic		Replies	Views
unable to burn bootloader in arduino uno Uploading	5	3905	May 6, 2021
Need Help Burning Bootloader on Atmega328p-au Project Uploading	43	1430	October 15, 2023
Unable to burn bootloader to atmega328P Uploading	3	985	May 6, 2021
Cant burn bootloader ATmega328P[Solved] Uploading	2	1097	May 6, 2021
Error while burning bootloader on atmega2560 16AU Uploading	2	1280	June 9, 2022

I'm having trouble burning the bootloader onto an ATMega168p

Related topics