Micro not recognized by computer

Nothing with exclamation or question mark in Device Manager.

How do I know if the board is a copy?

If it is a copy do I install driver for CH340?

If its a real LLC version board then you should not need the CH340 drivers.

However there have been fakes and copies.
the address you supplied didn't come up with anything Arduino so I am going to assume its a fake so yes go get the 340 drivers from HERE

Unplug any Arduinos and install the driver.
Plug in the Arduino and open up the IDE.
You will have to tell it the board type and com port which hopefully you can now see in device manager.

Let us know how you go on.

Copied the unzipped folder CH341SER into C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\drivers). The files in the folder are as in attached PDF. Am I not doing it right?

instal1_1.pdf (374 KB)

Arduino Micro does not use CH340G driver and there are no "fakes" that I've ever heard of; if you have an Arduino Micro it is genuine. You just need to use another USB cable, one that is NOT a charge-only cable.

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A DJ this topic was brought up before.

There have been and are copies.

Same with the Micros.

However thanks for reminding me about the cables its something on forgot on this occasion.

I have never seen or heard of any clone or copy of the Arduino Micro. Ever. Of course this is a big world, so perhaps there could be one. If somebody has a photo of one they think is a copy, and some sort of evidence it may be one, I would like to see it.

Actually I do stand corrected as the micro doesn't need a CH340 anyway....

However..
A quick EBay run brings up lots advertised as Pro Micro and Micro both with and without USB connector.
So Guess nothing is sacred...

Pro Micro
Micro

Lots more variations too.

And of course also on Amazon

Yes, but ALL copies of ATmega32U4 boards are copies of Sparkfun's Pro Micro or Arduino Leonardo, not Arduino Micro. There are tons of listings on sites such as eBay with incorrect titles and sometimes incorrect pictures, but what you get when you order is a Pro Micro or knock-off Pro Micro. So in those example cases, the title indicates or mentions Arduino Micro, but the pinout shows it is actually a Pro Micro. I don't think anybody has found value in copying the Arduino Micro, so it is a rare item in Arduino Land, a board that has not been counterfeited or cloned at all, by anybody. Arduino Micro is the board with 34 header pins.

Exactly...
Which always begs the question is it a real one of does somebody THINK they have a real one and with such mis-label of almost all the boards on EBay and Amazon and even in some of the smaller actual retail shops that get stock from China it is no longer an unfair question to ask regarding drivers.

Hence I asked for a link but when that link turned up "perfume" ... I smelled :slight_smile: not a genuine article and possibly something else.

Used a brand new cable (USB 2.0 A male to micro USB 5 pin male cable from i dot Connect) - but same problem.
BTW I bought an UNO with the Micro - UNO seems to work.
The Micro silk-screen says Arduino Micro - do not know if that means anything.

I suggest use a micro USB cable that is known to work for data with another device, such as a cell phone, Kindle, or some other thing that will show the cable works for more than just charging. Or contact the seller for a replacement Micro. If you are adventurous, use the Uno as an ISP programmer and burn a fresh bootloader on the Micro. To do that you would find a tutorial online that talks about ISP programming using the ArduinoISP sketch and in the Tools, Programmer menu select programmer type "Arduino as ISP".

Thanks - these are all useful suggestions

Checked the cable - it is fine

Checked the cable - it is fine.
Contacted Arduino Store USA - no response

Are you using USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports ?

If its USB 3.0 then please try on a USB 2.0 port before you return it.
USB 3.0 is known to cause issues an many Arduinos and other USB equipment also.

If you only have USB 3.0 the most common fix is to use a USB 2.0 powered hub between the arduino and the USB port.

Another issue was some microsoft driver updates for USB devices that pooched a lot of things.
Cannot remember which KB it was but am going to point you at a couple of possible fixes.
Other thing to do is see which updates are installed on your box and drop out the USB ones one at a time.

First here

Second HERE (Try number 6 down the list.)

Also a new user and I had the very same issue yesterday on my Win7 machine. Tried a number of things I found here and searching the web in general, different USB cable, pressing reset button, tried a Vista machine instead of the Win7, back to Win 7 machine but the Micro would not show up in Device Manager.

Worked with it for aver an hour and finally double and triple clicking the reset button it would recognize the USB device as an Arduino Micro but it failed to load the driver and disappeared from Device Manager again. After a couple more tries it successfully loaded the driver. Unfortunately not sure what the magic combination was to get it to work. I did hold reset button down while plugging in USB cable on the laptop and then double clicking it, maybe that was the solution...not sure.

Now it finds it every time it the USB is plugged in no matter which cable I use. Happy it is working, wish I knew exactly why to help others.

I found the problem due to the anti-static foam that came attached to the header pins. On removing the foam, Micro got recognized by computer and sketch could be uploaded. Perhaps some pins were getting shorted by the conducting foam.

Now that is pretty funny! It never occurred to me we could be dealing with something not completely removed from the packaging. I guess we should have asked you first thing to post picture of the board with the cable attached.

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Have to add that to my list of do's and dont's LOL.

Have probably done worse myself though.