Hi all 
Hoping someone may have some inspiration to help me get rid of the dreaded avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 bug ! .

I have built a  stripboard Uno using the mcu from one of my commercial Unos. I have  been trying to program it using a FT232RL serial connector and got the above error, and after trying for several hours to solve the problem I decided to try to use the Arduino as ISP method instead, only to find I had the same error message. As is required  I had the DTR pin of the FT232RL connected to the mcu  reset pin via a 100nf capacitor and the pin was also pulled high with a 10k resistor so that is eliminated as being the cause.

I then decided to build a basic breadboard version just to try to overcome this problem. This is just the mcu plus the usual crystal and capacitors along with the above resistor and capacitor configuration. I am still getting the same error messages both using the FT232RL, Arduino as ISP as well as by using a Baite CP2102 serial converter. 

I have tried with a different MCU, increasing the 100nf capacitor to 1uf, different usb cables, different usb ports, using the native arduino.exe program, with the correct sketch in the uploading UNO, un-installed and reinstalled the serial converter drivers, all to no avail, the only thing that has changed was once the error code was  0x06 instead of 0x00  

I also installed the MCU back into the UNO to check it was still working that way, which it is .

I am only a beginner using arduino so hoping one of you experienced experts can shed some light on the problem before it drives me to drink, which I cannot do as it poses a severe health risk to me ! 

I am using Win7 x64 & arduino 1.0.4. 

Having tried all the above I feel confident that the problem must be with my PC Hope someone out there can save my sanity before google ban me for searching for a solution so many times ! 

Thanks for reading this ! 

Hi again Gelius

Thanks for your reply 

The images I posted are a bit misleading,  the crystal is right up against the MCU as shown in your photo, I have tried without C2 & C3  but it still doesn't work  

Partly solved the problem and got it working with the CP2102 serial converter!

Apparently there are a large number of these around with the TX and RX pins labelling transposed so they need connecting with TX on the module to  TX on the board and likewise RX - RX.   

In addition some modules do not have DTR  connected to the actual output pins so it is necessary to connect a wire from DTR to the MCU reset pin via a 1uf capacitor.  Doing all of this and the module facilitates uploads to the  board  perfectly. 

I suspect that my FR232 module may well be faulty so have ordered a replacement . 

Some more information has come to light which probably answers why so many people have this problem. It appears the reset pin as it is labelled on some USB converters  is actually to reset the converter and not the Arduino ! 

So if you are buying a CP2102 converter like this or a similar alternative then ensure it clearly states that it supports auto reset or that the DTR output pin as above is available. If not then it is necessary to reset the MCU immediately prior to upload .. but the timing can be a little tricky at first