The instructions on this page:
http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows

indicate that windows vista will auto-install the fdti drivers for the board when it is plugged in. One windows 7 (ultimate, 64 bit) the security efaults appear to have changed and it will not automatically download the drivers. you must go tell windows to allow downloading drivers, and then it works.

Thanks!

no external power, basically just going to be measuring the positiion of a potentiometer. and not concerened about absolute potion, just taking a start and end position for a delta.

Im planning to interface the A2D channels (and a couple dio channels) on my board with sensors which are in a garage/shop environment, and the sensors are located in a remote box connected via a cable. Im curious how sensitive the board is, and if i should use some form of isolation for the a2d and dio channels? Or is the board considered rugged enough for this kind of useage? Thanks

Thanks Grumpy, will try it out.

We have two 10k pots, wired with outer legs from VCC to ground, and center tap connecting each to an A2D channel.

The input from these seems to be jumpy, as well as affect each other slightly. To the point that they aren't really reliable enough to use for the positioning feedback we need them for.

Are there any tricks to getting a solid reading from two pots in this manner? let me know if more details are needed...
Thanks

I might add that these machines may be located all over the US and potentially europe, so the temperature and humidity ranges could be wide. Here in texas, it is over 100F today

Have a system I'm building for a client in which I would like to replace an older parallel port interfaced board to a pc, with a usb connected arduino based one.
The question I have is, how durable are these boards, related to temperature and potentially some humidity. The machine it interfaces with is typically used in automotive shops, so it is basically an outdoor environment (with a roof over it). If I situate the board inside a much larger metal cabinet which should have some level of air flow through it, is this well within spec for this board to handle, or would this be pushing the limits? Thanks!