I was communicating between my computer and my Arduino Uno R3 through Bluetooth using this Bluetooth module. The connector I use has a red wire where it connects to GND, and a black wire where it connects to +5V.
↓ ↓ to Uno ↓ ↓ +5V GND pin 0 pin 1
I forgot this one time when I connected the Bluetooth module to the Uno, so the polarity was reversed. This fried the Bluetooth module.
After getting a new module, I discovered that the Uno was apparently fried too. Plugging a USB cable into the Uno made the little green integrated LED turn on, but that was all that happened; none of the pins put out any electricity. When I tried to upload a program, it gave the infamous avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
error. I could upload programs to my other Uno fine, and I could not upload to the broken Uno on my other computer.
Two of the Arduino experts I know told me that the ATmega328 chip might be the only broken part. Is this likely to be the case? I have an Uno R2 with a working ATmega328. Would temporarily replacing the R3's ATmega with that R2's ATmega have a change of damaging anything?