Arduino 1.6.12 has several AVRDUDE related issues.
It comes packaged with AVRDUDE which in my installation is located at C:\Users\owen\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino6\bin\avrdude.exe . This reports itself as “Version 6.3, compiled on Sep 12 2016 at 17:24:16”.
Also relevant is the avrdude.conf file (C:\Users\owen\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino6\etc\avrdude.conf).
This article relates to failures to program a bootloader, and failures to program the application using the very common USBasp.
There were two obvious problems:
- a false warning message about setting SCK rate, and fatal failure to contact the target; and (when that is resolved)
- failure to verify efuse=0x05.