Not sure if this is a VisualMicro problem, an AtmelStudio problem, or a possible hardware problem....  Sometimes, when I click on Run, it will indicate it is uploading to the board, then hang for about 10 seconds, before aborting with:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

If I hold down the reset button on the board (ProMini 328, 5V, 16MHz), until after the "Uploading to I/O board using ..." message appears, the download is successful 100% of the time.  The odd thing is, it will, sometimes, work perfectly for quite some time without using the reset button.  But, once I get the first "not in sync" message, it rarely goes back to working correctly unless I close AtmelStudio for some time, then re-open it.  It was acting up last night, so I gave up and close Atmel Studio.  This morning, it worked perfectly for perhaps a half hour before I got the first "not in sync", and hasnt' worked right in the hour or more since then.

Regards,
Ray L.

At the moment, I have a kind of Frankenstein setup.   I have an FTDI USB/Serial adaptor.  Plugged onto that is an RS232<->TTL level shifter board, and the TTL side of that board is wired to the connector on the ProMini.

Am I correct in thinking DTR would be the suspect signal to explain this?

Funny thing is, I've BEEN running with a Prolific adaptor, but I was forced to get a new PC a few weeks ago, and the Prolific is not supported under (Yuck!) Win8.  This FTDI cable is the only thing I have on-hand that works at all.  Never had a problem with it under XP.

Regards,
Ray L.

Try the driver using the link.

Can solve the problem, not sure exactly!

http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=225&pcid=41

Hmm ,that's strange."RTS On Close"
How can it affect the operation of the adapter USB COM.
I do not understand ?

Ok.
I agree. Trying to be all that will lead to the solution of the problem!!!
It is interesting to see just what is the Problem?
I have such an adapter I stopped using it.

FWIW - Prolific has apparently just released an updated driver that *appears* to work well with Win8.  My Prolific adaptors are now working well, in limited testing.  I'll continue running them, and see how it goes.  But this is further than I'd gotten with the old drivers.

Regards,
Ray L.

Hi Ray,

It's good that you have progressed with this. My suggestion of RTS on close was just a guess based on some internet posts.

gelius59 has a good view of these things, he is very experienced with USB, I think his suggestions are more relevant

Tim

RayLivingston wrote on Jun 16^th, 2013 at 12:15am:

Ok.
Ray.
The chips PL2303 FT232 are very similar.
The quality of work I think a lot depends on the driver.
There is a chip CP2102 but unfortunately for me is not available.
I all electronics try to do on their own.
I do not buy ready-made products, only chips etc.
Sorry do not know much English.
 
I hope Prolific with the  new adapter driver will work well.

Good luck.

There seems to be some kind of Serial Port flakiness in AtmelStudio.  Several times I've found it will stop acknowledging that ANY serial port is present, even when DeviceManager shows one or more are there.  Exiting AtmelStudio, and re-starting it always seems to get it working right again.

So far, working with the newest Prolific driver, I've had only a few problems.  It will, once in a while, give the avrdude sync error message, but holding the reset button on the target until the "downloading" message appears ALWAYS works.  Often, after a short time, it will simply start working again on its own.  Again, exiting, and re-starting AtmelStudio also seems to restore sanity.

Bottom line, while slightly annoying, none of this is significantly impacting productivity, which is nice.

Regards,
Ray L.

Tim,

No problem.  I never cease to be amazed at how flaky USB serial seems to be on Windows, going back as far as I can remember.  I've written several .NET apps myself that use USB Serial, and sometimes see similar problems.  It seems like the drivers, or Windows, just weird out sometimes.   

Overall, I'm really happy with VisualMicro, and find it works very nicely with AtmelStudio - I don't really miss VS for the things I'm doing with it.

Regards,
Ray L.