Error Uploading. Check if selected board is currently available

[jlames]

I'm just starting out using a Chromebook and the web-based Create. When I plug my Elegoo Uno R3 provided in my starter kit, when I attempt to upload the "Blink" code to the board, I get the above-referenced message. Further, the drop down board selection menu fails to provide a Com selection. Plugging the board into either of the Chromebook's USB ports light up a flashing amber light next to Pin13 and a steady green light. What am I doing wrong? I've looked for answers throughout the forum and internet.

[pert]

Make sure the USB cable is completely plugged into both the Arduino board and the PC.

You may have a damaged/defective or charge-only USB cable. Try a different cable.

[jlames]

Yep. The cable is secure at both ends so I'll try a different one tomorrow. Is the Elgoo Uno R3 different than the Arduino Uno that is referenced? I just began watching Arduino lessons from someone named Paul McWhorter and bought it from his YouTube videos. Perhaps I should have gone directly to Arduino for an OEM board. 3rd-party knockoffs have never worked well for me.

[pert]

Is the Elgoo Uno R3 different than the Arduino Uno that is referenced?

The most significant difference you will find with some Uno "clones" (actually more correctly called a "derivative" in this case) is that they use a different USB to serial adapter chip. The Uno uses an ATmega32U4 with a custom firmware created by Arduino. To save on the cost of manufacturing, some 3rd party boards use a cheaper chip, most often the CH340. Those boards are recognized differently than the boards with the ATmega32U4. From the pictures of the Elegoo Uno R3 I find online, it does appear to use the ATmega32U4, but I have found that the 3rd party board you receive does not always match the product photo. You can check this by looking at the writing on top of the largest black chip next to the USB socket on the Uno. it should say either 'MEGA32U4" or "CH340G" on top.

I don't have any experience with Chromebooks or the Create Chrome App, so I can't say whether you need to do anything special to use a board with the CH340.

[jlames]

Thank you. It reads, "ATMEGA32BP  U". I don't know if that's "close enough"!

[pert]

That's the wrong chip. The ATmega328P is the primary microcontroller of the Uno, the one your sketch runs on. The chip you need to look at is the smaller one that is very close to the USB socket on the board.

[jlames]

Back in the day, we used to have Adobe forums that met once a month so developers should share ideas. Do these in the form of Arduino ever happen? Coders helping coder noob?

[Juraj]

The Uno uses an ATmega32U4 with a custom firmware created by Arduino.

16u2

[pert]

Back in the day, we used to have Adobe forums that met once a month so developers should share ideas. Do these in the form of Arduino ever happen? Coders helping coder noob?

Haha, once a month! We do it 24/7/365 here on the Arduino forum.

16u2

Thanks Juraj! @jlames instead of this:

it should say either 'MEGA32U4"

I should have written:

it should say either 'MEGA16U2"