>
>
> I've spent way too much time already in my young life fighting with
> crystal oscillator circuits.  Anything of mine in the future that
> isn't intended for mass mass production (and maybe stuff that does)
> will have a powered clock, unless there is some reason not to that
> I'm not aware of.



There aren't THAT many things to check.

The crystal needs to be a fundamental mode, parallel resonant crystal.

Routing: Are you keeping the crystal in close to the micro, and do the cap
leads return to the micro ground by a separate track, NOT a plane, or other
"ground" point.

Cap values: Typically, twice the loading cap value, minus about 5pF

These last two tests I would consider optional for a hobbyist, but essential
for production:
Drive level: Are you overdriving? Crystals do funny things when hit too
hard.
"Negative resistance" margin: Do you have enough gain to reliably start?
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