I went to my local electronics supplier and bought a genuine Arduino Uno. After a week of frustration I was was still trying to get it to be recognised by my computer. I scoured this forum ,the internet, downloaded Flick, changed drivers numerous times, burned a new bootloader, changed the cable, tried another computer etc etc.. Believe me I tried everything. Being a compulsive obsessive I even bought a new Atmel 32 chip. Nothing worked. I started losing sleep, waking up at 3am.
Eventually I went back to my dealer and asked for another Uno. Luckily he didn't have the genuine article in stock but offered me a Chinese clone at half the price. Took it home, plugged it into my computer and it worked straight away!! One happy chappy!! Will now go for the cheaper option first!
Genuino=Crapuino??
genuino