Windows XP won't recognise driver and install

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I've bought a new PC with Windows 7 Ultimate. Of course I had to try Uno once more.

Plugged in and installed the driver as described.
Same error as earlier.

I tried and tried. Got angry. The Uno is useless so I almost banged the on board switch, somtimes at the same time when uploading, and - then it worked!

Tried it on my XP PC and it worked there to!

I've rebooted both PC, tried for seveal days, no problem!

Is there som explanation on this matter?

There is no bad solderings on Uno (checked with magnifying glass).

I followed these steps and the Arduino Uno worked with my Acer Aspire One with Windows XP Home:

  • downloaded and installed Arduino 0021
  • plugged the Arduino uno in via USB
  • Ran Add Hardware from Control Panel
  • pointed the wizard to the Arduino Uno driver that came with Arduino 0021,
  • it is working.

I am having the same issues as einy and LeftBrain and am also just about ready to throw my UNO in the trash. But as a last effort, I will try to describe here the exact process that fails in hope of getting help. I follow the instructions provided exactly and XP seems to be installing everything perfectly. I see usbser.sys flash past on the screen. Then as the last item a windows message pops up that says:

Cannot Install this Hardware
There was a problem installing this hardware
Arduino UNO
The system cannot find the file specified.
Click Finish to close the wizard.

At this point the hardware manager shows the Arduino under the serial ports but with a yellow triangle. Clicking to fix the problem here only leads to a process that results in the same message as above.

Does anyone know what file is missing and where to get it? I have also tried getting the latest from the FTDI web site with the same results.

Also, does anyone know if other Arduinos have the same issues or whether the UNO will run with Linux without these issues.

Gonna have to buy a Uno and see if all these problems are real or just finger trouble. I know first hand the Duemilanove and several of its clones work with XP and Linux. The Uno was supposed to make life easier because it didn't need a driver for Windows - just an .inf file to configure the existing one.

Just placed an order with my genuine Arduino supplier of choice for a Uno.........

How hard can it be ? :wink:

A bit cheaper than my Duemilanove cost back then :slight_smile:

@john.olsen, you're wasting your time with the FTDI site since the Uno doesn't contain an FTDI chip. Its there for the old sods like me with Dumilanoves and earlier which did.......

This usually fixes our xps that have this problem. Uno have never been a problem

http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM20802_Setup.exe

OK, I give up trying to run an UNO under XP. Does anyone know whether any of the other Arduinos run under XP? Do any of the others use a real USB chip that does not need serial port emulators? One of the main points of USB was to avoid all this serial port nonsense.

From all the info on the Arduinos I am anxious to start working with them and will even set up a Linux machine if that is the only way

Does anyone know whether any of the other Arduinos run under XP?

I never had any problems with the Duemilanoves using XP.

Do any of the others use a real USB chip

No. They all use a USB to serial converter.

One of the main points of USB was to avoid all this serial port nonsense.

What "nonsense" are you referring to? The Arduino is NOT a USB device. It is a TTL serial device. The use of real serial ports on computers have declined so much that virtually no
computers ship with serial ports these days. So, some kind of adapter is required. The USB to serial chips are perfect for that.

From all the info on the Arduinos I am anxious to start working with them and will even set up a Linux machine if that is the only way

It's a way, but not the only way.

Sad news, Uno stopped working on XP (still working on Win7).
Realy sad, because:

  1. The HW is good and shield comaptible with Netduino.

  2. I found "Visual Micro". That means Uno can be programmed with Visual Studio.

  3. You can develop project with Uno, program the CPU, take it out and put it directly in to your homemade circuits, which isn't possible with Netduino.

For how long will it work with Win7? I havn't got time to take that risk.

Is there anyone who know something about that there will be a fix for this problem?

For the people having problems: are you running the 32 or 64-bit version of Windows?

XP is 32-bit.
Maybe localization have influence. My XP is Norwegian.

After much personal expense (buying a Uno) and much loving crafting of screen shots, heres how to get from john.olsen's position to a working system on windows XP.

Do you like the kinky double mouse pointers on some of 'em ? :wink:

After the good news, I've run into issues with serial with the Uno (like lots of other people), so I'm of the opinion the ol' Duemilanove is better

SOLVED (for me)

I just received my Arduino Uno yesterday and had been struggling to get the driver to install on my laptop Windows XP machine (worked fine on my desktop WinXP machine).

I was getting the exact same problem as john.olsen describes (a few posts prev.). I would point windows to the driver location, it would copy it over, and then complain "The system cannot find the file specified". Arduino Uno would be listed in device manager under ports but it would be disabled, and no COM# was listed as part of the port name.

The fix that worked for me... (found here: http://forums.techguy.org/1680041-post1.html)

  1. Start -> Run -> "regedit"
  2. Nav to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
  3. With "CurrentVersion" selected, choose menu option "Edit -> New -> Key"
  4. Name the key "RunOnce"
  5. Reboot (may or may not be required... I didn't try without rebooting)
  6. Connect Arduino and install the drivers according to the instructions.

After doing this the installation went as expected. Hope this is useful to others.

-Mitch

pluggy: thanks for the great screenshots!

I posted them here: http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/UnoDriversWindowsXP and linked to them from the main instructions: http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows. Let me know (by forum PM) if you have any problems with this or would prefer some other form of citation.

Mitch, Thanks for your your post. Was troubled by the driver install issue on XP. Your post solved the problem. This does seem to be a real issue on Win XP. I will repost the fix for those still having problems: jumblo

Symptom: I would point windows to the driver location, it would copy it over, and then complain "The system cannot find the file specified". Arduino Uno would be listed in device manager under ports but it would be disabled, and no COM# was listed as part of the port name.

Solution:

  1. Start -> Run -> "regedit"
  2. Nav to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
  3. With "CurrentVersion" selected, choose menu option "Edit -> New -> Key"
  4. Name the key "RunOnce"
  5. Reboot
  6. Connect Arduino and install the drivers according to the instructions.

After doing this the installation went as expected.

I was having the same problem. Have been trying to install the FTDI drivers from their website for a couple of hours now (as described in the ladyada.net tutorial). It seems all of that was a waste of time, and that I needed to point my computer to the drivers folder within the arduino folder that i had installed. All is good now.