Arduino Uno Rev3 Settings That Work for Windows

I finally nailed down how to properly install the Arduino IDE and drivers to make my Arduino Uno R3 receive sketches.

You can basically scroll down to the Notes section if you want quick answer, but i figured i would document the whole process cus I would have liked to have that when i started this whole ordeal.

Development Environment:
Operating System: Windows XP (32-bit)
Board : Arduino Uno Rev 3
Arduino IDE Rev : 1.0.1
Power Source : USB

FTDI Driver Information:
Date : 2012-04-26
Version : 2.08.24

1.) Download the Arduino IDE and unzip to the folder of your choice (C:\Program Files for this example)
2.) Download the latest FTDI Drivers (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm)
3.) Unzip the FTDI drivers to the ARDUINO_INSTALL_DIRECTORY\drivers\FTDI USB Drivers subdirectory
C:\Program Files\arduino-1.0.1\drivers\FTDI USB Drivers
4.) Connect your Arduino Board to your computer via USB cable
5.) When prompted to install the drivers, select the option to "install from a list or specific location"
6.) Select the option "Search for specific drivers in these locations"
7.) Click "Browse" and Navigate to the FTDI Directory where you installed the latest drivers
8.) Then click "Next"

  • Windows will now start searching and then install the drivers (This will take a minute or three).
    9.) When install is successful, click Finish.
    10.) Verify which COM Port your device has been mapped to:
    a. Open up Device Manager (Quickest way is to press WindowsButton + R and enter mmc devmgmt.msc)
    b. Scroll down to the Ports (COM & LPT) section
    c. Write down the COM port as we will need this later. It should look something like Arduino Uno R3 (COMX)
    (Where X is the port number. ie. COM3,COM4,etc...
    11.) Open up the Arduino IDE
    12.) From the Menu bar, select Tools->Board->Arduino Uno (Even though this doesn't say Arduino Uno R3, it is the correct selection)
    13.) This is where we need use the COM port noted in step 10c.
    a. From the Menu bar, select Tools->Board->COMX (if in device manager, the Arduino was mapped to COM3, you would select COM3 from this menu)
    14.) Finally, just to make sure everything worked, open up an example sketch and try uploading it to the board.

Here are a few debugging pages that i have found in the past that helped me along:
Arduino Tutorial - Lesson 1 - Let there be blink! <- Describes the common upload error "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00"
http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/arduino/technotes/debug/arduinodebug.html <- Describes the error "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x30"

Final Notes
1.) The Arduino Uno R3 board is programmed directly by USB, so you need to make sure that you install the drivers from the ARDUINO_INSTALL_DIRECTORY\drivers\FTDI USB Drivers directory

  • When uploading i received the error "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x30" when i installed the "Arduino UNO REV3.inf" driver from my install directory C:\Program Files\arduino-1.0.1\drivers
    2.) I didnt update anything in terms of baud rate, parity, etc. for the COM port from Device Manager

Know this was long winded, but hopefully this can help someone else out in the future.

HAPPY HACKING!!!!!!

The UNO R3 does not have an FTDI chip, so installing FTDI drivers is a waste of time. The correct driver is arduino-xxx\drivers\Arduino UNO REV3.if

Thanks for your reply kd7eir.

When I specifically installed the driver "Arduino UNO REV3.inf" I got the error "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x30"

So I uninstalled that driver, and had Windows look in the FTDI Drivers directory for the drivers instead.

When I installed the FTDI drivers, I was not getting the error listed above.

The board came from a Sparkfun kit, so maybe they do something different...

All I know is that with the steps I listed, I am up and hacking away.

10.) Verify which COM Port your device has been mapped to:
a. Open up Device Manager (Quickest way is to press WindowsButton + R and enter mmc devmgmt.msc)
b. Scroll down to the Ports (COM & LPT) section
c. Write down the COM port as we will need this later. It should look something like Arduino Uno R3 (COMX)
(Where X is the port number. ie. COM3,COM4,etc...
11.) Open up the Arduino IDE
12.) From the Menu bar, select Tools->Board->Arduino Uno (Even though this doesn't say Arduino Uno R3, it is the correct selection)
13.) This is where we need use the COM port noted in step 10c.
a. From the Menu bar, select Tools->Board->COMX (if in device manager, the Arduino was mapped to COM3, you would select COM3 from this menu)

I am curious as to how well COM3,COM4 work out for you. Which Com Port is assigned to your Arduino?

when i first started out installing everything, i thought that com3 was a common issue as referenced in another post that i cant locate just right now.

either way, right now im mapped to com3.

i did not manually change the port either.

i have done the install several times based on the steps i have listed without any issue.

one thing to note is that when i send random text via the serial monitor, i get garbage echoed back.

i didnt really care bout that since i was able to upload my sketches.

i dont think there is an issue with using com3 as a port (based on my install directions above)

hopefully this is useful to those running into the same problems i was having...

LETS KEEP HACKING!!!!!!!!

Hey, if it works...

I just noticed that my XP and Vista machines are both assigning COM ports greater than COM4. I have not had a stitch of trouble, but a wide majority of the "not in sync" errors are on COM3 (and maybe COM4). com64 seemed to get up and running after switching from COM3 to COM5. Coincidence? Time will tell.

Good to know a COM3 is up and running well.

Thanks for the info.

thanks for the reply spcomputing

i updated my post to state that the com3 port should not cause any issues.

im not well-versed in the arduino uno r3 schematics/architecture,
but i know that at least when i got the out of sync error 0x30 from avrdude,
my problems were solved by installing the FTDI drivers.

if anyone is having issues where the directions dont work based on the OS listed above, i will be glad to post any information based on the board i am using.

my apologies for the horrible punctuation, but im writing this post from a tablet and dont feel like correcting :slight_smile:
)

One more curiosity. As kd7eir noted, it is odd that the FTDI driver worked on your R3 Uno. Could you check your device manager and see which driver is creating that com port?