this 'avrdude' : stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 (YES, ANOTHER ONE..)

Hi!

i am playing with 2 arduinos UNO R3, in windows 7 machine, each one connecting to the other, all simple things... I am also using IDE 1.0.2. Yesterday i was uploading just fine with no errors whatsoever.

Today not one but two messages, on both arduinos from that 'avrdude' guy : stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00. I checked Tools > PortT and Board and all according to my setup. I went to the troubleshooting and i had no luck finding a solution.

After some research i also found how to write the bootloader with ArduinoISP. Luckily I had a 3rd Arduino UNO so i tried and was SUCCESSFUL....but the second arduino just keeps giving the same message "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00".

I checked and triple checked this setup: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoISP/ and i also changed wires in case 1 was doing bad contact.

a couple of things i noticed:

  1. The LED is brighter than on the the arduino i want to bootload...all the time.
  2. when i hit reset on programmer's arduino, the one that i want to fix also resets when USB cable is ON on both. This doesn't happen when only the programmer is ON.
  3. Soemetimes the message given is the subject of this message , other tmes:
    avrdude: stk500_program_enable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x50
    avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1
    Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
    this check.

avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x51

The only thing i read about is to write through parallel port but i don't have 1 available...any solution?

Thanks in advance
Fernando Oliveira

choose the USBasp programmer in the arduino app