as a n00b, i can accept being told my modus operandi is all over the place, but tell me where i have lost sight
Oh good grief, just look at what you post, isn't being all over the place the definition of having lost sight of the objective?
I gave you a suggestion to try in my post. Rather than inquire about it, you blew it off. Well, I made a mistake with the recommendation. Call it negative transfer from the last bootloader fiasco. I forgot that was about the 328 versus 328P.
I should have recommended the "Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328" because that's what you have. The board name is meaningless, it's the definition that matters. If you care to look at the pro mini, you'll see the bootloader is "ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328.hex" the same thing you were trying to achieve back in post #11.
You've got a 328P on a minimal board with what is supposed to be a 16MHz clock. We're now at post #16 you've not yet tried to upload to that board using the proper definition within the IDE.
Rather, you persist in your belief you need to load a bootloader. You don't know if the board has a resonator or a full swing crystal but you were going to blow a bootloader into it. Once you do that, your chances of bricking it were 50/50.
If you're an admitted noob, perhaps you should slow down and ask questions that expand your knowledge. Work with the mentoring types here that ask questions, provide information and a can help with a plan of attack for solving a problem.
What I see is that you engage the forum after you're already up to your neck in confusion and only then do ask for help with how to get of out of the situation, very similar to the x-y problem. You're off trying to do something, like burn a bootloader, when the need for that step is not yet proven to be needed.
Even worse, when it's suggested you should back up and try the obvious, you go on your little rants like this:
the original problem is - I CANNOT UPLOAD A SKETCH.
was there a bootloader - VERY LIKELY NO - and as it stands now, there is NOT -cmiiw-.
SO : i need to
a) provide a bootloader or;
b) upload via ICSP programming.BOTH require KNOWING what chip and setup is on that board - since no one answered HOW to check what the crystal is - i had to just GUESS - either 8 MHz OR 16 MHz (OR who knows what other alternative there is ?!)
i failed on the 8 MHz standard Lilypad bootloader.
and NOW i have failed on the 16 Mhz version as well.
What's with all the caps and asterisks? I hope you understand you're shouting. It's very annoying, mostly because it's harder to read.
I could ask some questions but this thread is becoming pointless, ending as my other my interactions with you end.
So, I'll leave you to wander about in your world of Arduino 1.0.5. Maybe you'll stumble upon a solution.
Perhaps you should get your ohmmeter out again and start measuring things. Anything at all. It doesn't matter what you measure, I'm sure you can find something wrong with something.