Troubleshooting Guide

Problem Reason Solution
The RED power LED is not ON The DC power cable is not connected Connect the DC power cable to the DC jack (see "Quick Start").
Wrong power supply is used Check that the power supply is of DC type 10-15V, min 500mA. (see "Quick Start").
The power switch is OFF Turn on the power switch
The preprogrammed example code does not toggle the LEDS There is no Atmel AVR device in the socket Plug the AVR device into the right socket (see "ISP Programming" and "High Voltage Programming")
The LEDS are not connected to the I/O ports Connect the LEDS header to the PORTD header, and SWITCHES header to PORTB header (see "Connection of LEDs and Switches")
The flash memory is erased Connect the Atmel STK500 to a PC and reprogram the AVR device (see Using Atmel Studio with Atmel STK500)
The AVR device can not be programmed The PC serial cable is not connected Connect the serial cable to the PC COM port and the RS232 CTRL port
The AVR device is inserted in wrong socket Check the correct socket is used (see "ISP Programming" and "High Voltage Programming")
The AVR device is inserted with wrong orientation Check that the notch on the AVR socket matches the notch on the AVR device.
The target ISP header is not connected Connect the 6-pin flexible cable from ISP6PIN header to the correct SPROG target ISP header (see ISP Programming)
The jumpers settings are wrong Set jumper to default setup (see "Jumper Settings")
The VTARGET voltage is too low Check the AVR datasheet for minimum operating voltage
The memory lock bits are programmed Erase the memory before programming
Reset disable fuse is set. Check reset disable fuse.
Programming too fast. Check STK500 oscillator settings and make sure it is not set higher than target clock.
CKDIV fuse is set. Reduce ISP programming speed
External pullup resistor on reset line too low. Ensure that external pullup resistor is ≥4.7kΩ.
Atmel Studio does not detect STK500 Serial cable is not connected, or power is off Connect serial cable to RS232 CTRL and check power connections
PC COM port is in use Disable other programs that are using PC COM port
Change PC COM port
STK500 cannot be switched off. Positive center power connector is used. Use negative center power connector.Turn off STK500 by removing power connector.
The status LED is blinking slowly There is a short circuit on AREF  Resolve the short circuit.
The status LED is blinking quickly. There is a short circuit on VTarget. Resolve the short circuit.
An external VTarget is being used and has been turned off. Set VTarget to a value below 0.3V in Atmel Studio.
ATtiny13 programming does not work. Start-up time is set too short Read ATtiny13 Programming Issues.
The LEDs don’t work (running from external VTarget.) STK500 must be powered for LEDs to work. Supply poser to STK500 and turn it on.
Problem Reason Solution