Problems with AVR Dragon/AVR studio

[khi3]

Hoping i could get some help.

I'm using AVR Dragon with AVR studio and an ATTiny12L-4PC microprocessor.

My first problem was that I couldn't enter programming mode in PP/HVSP mode. All the lights on the dragon would go out and i'd have to disconnect and reconnect power to get it to even try again.

Giving up on that i switched over to ISP mode. It worked fine for a while, (erasing, writing, reading, etc. ) but then when i changed some of the fuse settings it stopped entering programming mode. I tried a different ATTiny12 and it still didn't work. All it will do is write and read the ISP frequency. It won't read the signature or fuses or anything. I've tried rebooting, i've redone the wiring on the dragon, i've tried different ISP frequencies, i even did the firmware update again.

Is it possible i damaged the dragon by changing fuse settings or is something else the problem here? I didn't ignore any of AVR studio's "smart warnings" when i changed the fuse settings, so i didn't think i could have messed it up too bad.

Anything else i can try?

Thanks,
Kyle

 

[HarveyH42]

I use the Dragon, but haven't had much luck with ISP mode, mostly just don't understand it enough. The HVSP mode works great for me, kind of get tired of moving the chip back and forth sometimes. This mode is suppose to be the most reliable. Anyway, you can't use the debug wire and ISP at the same time, but you can change the fuses. I've read somewhere that if you set the fuse for external crystal, but don't have one hooked up, it can mess things up. In ISP mode I keep getting errors having to do with speed, something about one quarter the clock.

Have tried a different chip?

 

[khi3]

I just tried a Attiny2313 in PP/HVSP mode and it did the same thing it always has with the attiny12, lights go out and it becomes unresponsive. Haven't tried ISP with the 2313 yet, and don't have time to right now. Could these problems have anything to do with some sort of setting in AVR Studio that i don't know about?

 

[HarveyH42]

You would probably get more help on AVRFreaks. I haven't messed around with mine that much. Couldn't figure out the ISP, so just use the HV mode. Haven't had any problems with it (about two years). Just not that adventurous with it, content with just getting the chip programmed. I know there are several Dragon threads on AVRFreaks, which deal with fixing dead Dragons (kind of why I don't mess with stuff I don't understand, and stick with what works). Doesn't seem too tough.

 

[khi3]

Problem solved. Long story short after hours of trying with no success someone on AVR Freaks suggested i wasn't getting enough power from the USB port. Replaced the USB cord and everything works perfectly.

Thanks for the advice,
-Kyle

 

[HarveyH42]

Problem solved. Long story short after hours of trying with no success someone on AVR Freaks suggested i wasn't getting enough power from the USB port. Replaced the USB cord and everything works perfectly.

Thanks for the advice,
-Kyle

Thank you for coming back with the solution. Doubt I'll have that problem, but good to know. At least it's here, if someone else needs it.

 

[Salgat]

Thank you for coming back with the solution. Doubt I'll have that problem, but good to know. At least it's here, if someone else needs it.

Same, it just pisses me off to no end when I search for an answer to a problem only to find a thread that ends with "Oh I found the solution." with no explanation.