> I'm unclear on how these hardware fuses actually work. Are they actual fuses that can be burnt on will by excessive power? No, they're not like the fuses in

> I'm unclear on how these hardware fuses actually work. Are they actual fuses that can be burnt on will by excessive power? No, they're not like the fuses in your house. These can be blown by software to irrevocably change something which can then be verified later, or in other cases to prevent reprogramming of a microcontroller (which can be programmed only if the programming fuse is still intact. >Does this mean FUSE_RESERVED_ODM7 actually contains multiple fuses? No, that's the name of one fuse. Once you upgrade the device next time, the upgrade tool would, for example, blow FUSE_RESERVED_ODM8; older software would verify that this fuse (and the higher-numbered ones) are NOT blown, and refuse to boot otherwise.