Problem while burning bootloader with UNO

Other Hardware 3rd Party Boards
1

I have an old UNO.

Trying to burn the bootloader to my smd atmega328 - au microcontroller. I have the ISP pins on my target board.

I did all the connections correctly by using pins 10-11-12-13

I also put a Logic level converter in between since there are some components not tolerant to 5V.

I am using the IDE version of 10.0.5

I uploaded the "ArduinoISP" example code then set all other things correctly - i.e Board(UNO),Serial Port, Programmer(Arduino as ISP)

However, I have the following error, when I hit the Burn Bootloader button;

avrdude: Yikes! Invalid device signature.
** Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override**
** this check.**

I also tried to change the device signature by changing the "avrdude" file. It didn't work.

Any suggestions? I searched almost every single thread on the web but couldn't find a solution.

2

I came across similar problems with signature identifications and they were related to the oscillator frequency chosen in conjunction with fuse settings.

What kind of crystal are you using?

3

Watcher:
I came across similar problems with signature identifications and they were related to the oscillator frequency chosen in conjunction with fuse settings.

What kind of crystal are you using?

I don't have any crystal on my target board. I was planning to use the internal oscillator of the atmega328p.

4

I have also just tried the "minimal circuit" without crystal mentioned in the following link. However, it also didn't work.

5

I would suggest to try with a 16 MHz Crystal.

6

Watcher:
I would suggest to try with a 16 MHz Crystal.

I can't. The board was already designed and the AVR was soldered.

Isn't there any way around?

7

This could be a problem of missing clock signal so MCU wont start. Try to connect clock signal to XTAL1 pin (#7 on chip in TQFP32 package) . There is a way how to made the clock signal output on Arduino. Use modified ArduinoISP sketch like this: ArduinoISP/ArduinoISP.ino at master · adafruit/ArduinoISP · GitHub . Clock signal is on pin 9 of UNO in this case.

8

If you bootload it with a board def that's meant to use a crystal (ie, low fuse set to use crystal), you've soft-bricked the chip - if it's reading 0x000000 (enable verbose uploads to see) as the signature, this is likely what you did - in that case, you must connect a crystal or external clock signal to bring the chip to life, so you can talk to it with a programmer and set it to use the internal oscillator.

9

DrAzzy:
If you bootload it with a board def that's meant to use a crystal (ie, low fuse set to use crystal), you've soft-bricked the chip - if it's reading 0x000000 (enable verbose uploads to see) as the signature, this is likely what you did - in that case, you must connect a crystal or external clock signal to bring the chip to life, so you can talk to it with a programmer and set it to use the internal oscillator.

As I stated before there is no way me to connect a crystal to the AVR on my board.

So, isn't there any target configuration for atmega328p working at 1Mhz?

10

I understand that the chip is soldered. You can connect external clock signal by wire directly to pin. Just apply the wire. Is there any problem with the pin usage?
Show your board and schematics.

11

Budvar10:
I understand that the chip is soldered. You can connect external clock signal by wire directly to pin. Just apply the wire. Is there any problem with the pin usage?
Show your board and schematics.

I don't also have a crystal around.

I really want to burn the bootloader without any additional components. I believe there must be a way to do it for a brand new AVR without any external oscillator.

12

Brand new ATmega is set for internal clock use by default, but if you tried upload with incorrect fuse setting the chip can stay bricked at the first try since fuses go first. However, there is a way how to un-brick chip without external oscillator, to use high voltage programming but I don't think you want to try it now.

13

Attaching a 16Mhz crystal solved the problem.

14

I got the same error as the OP when trying to bootload and program a new ATMega328p with an Arduino Uno. The only way I was able to get it to finally work was to choose "Tools -> Board -> Duemilanove" instead of "Uno". Only then was I able to burn the bootloader and to upload a new program using "Sketch -> Upload using Programmer". Can someone tell me why?