Avrdude: ser_open(): can't set com-state for "\\.\COM3" Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

coldfire23 · May 27, 2023, 11:20am

I am new to Arduino Uno and have been trying to upload a code it compiles all good but does not upload due to com error. I tried lot of troubleshooting step after reading many threads regarding this issue but no help. Also tried connecting the board to another PC and got the same issue. Any help would be appreciated!

sterretje · May 27, 2023, 12:14pm

Which version of Windows do you use (10/11/...)?
Do you know what the TTL-to-USB converter on the board is? Check in Windows Device Manager; possibly CH340.

We do not know what you tried. If you have indeed the CH340, did you try to roll back the driver?

coldfire23 · June 1, 2023, 5:08pm

My bad I did not mention more details.
I have a windows 11 although I tried it on a Windows 10 laptop as well but had the same issue.
The TTL to USB converter is the CH340 And I tried updating the Ch340 drivers, no luck.
When I try to roll back the drivers from the device manager I get another error which says:

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1

I checked all connections.

ptillisch · June 1, 2023, 7:37pm

Hi @coldfire23. I'm going to ask you to post the full output from an upload attempt when in verbose mode.

NOTE: These instructions will not solve the problem. They are only intended to gather more information which might provide a clue that eventually leads to a solution.

Please do this:

Select File > Preferences from the Arduino IDE menus.
Uncheck the box next to "Show verbose output during: ☑ compilation".
Check the box next to "Show verbose output during: ☐ upload".
Click the OK button.
Attempt an upload, as you did before.
After the upload fails, you'll see a button on the right side of the orange bar in Arduino IDE: Copy error messages. Click that button.
This copies the full output to the clipboard.
Open a forum reply here by clicking the Reply button.
Click the <CODE/> icon on the post composer toolbar.
This will add the forum's code block markup (```) to your reply to make sure the error messages are correctly formatted.
Press Ctrl+V.
This will paste the error output from the upload into the code block.
Move the cursor outside of the code tags before you add any additional text to your reply.
Click the Reply button to post the output.

jasonwinfield · June 2, 2023, 12:47am

I have been battling the same issue by trying the following (Win 11 Arduino 1.x):

unplug, plugin
POPO
Update boards
different USB port
Run in compatibility mode
Run as administrator

Nothing worked I KNEW the board was good as Ubuntu flashed it fine.

I then opened the serial console as the loaded script on the Nano was outputting data. This worked! I could see data in the console. I hit upload and away it went.

Hope this helps someone else.

coldfire23 · June 2, 2023, 3:08am

Sketch uses 7708 bytes (23%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 496 bytes (24%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1552 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
"C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/bin/avrdude" "-CC:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf" -v -V -patmega328p -carduino "-PCOM3" -b115200 -D "-Uflash:w:C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\sketches\D20F289404B7EA2FE53C55B9838D1A8F/clg.ino.hex:i"

avrdude: Version 6.3-20190619
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM3
         Using Programmer              : arduino
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 115200
avrdude: ser_open(): can't set com-state for "\\.\COM3"

avrdude done.  Thank you.

Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

coldfire23 · June 2, 2023, 3:27am

Sketch uses 7708 bytes (23%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 496 bytes (24%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1552 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
"C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/bin/avrdude" "-CC:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf" -v -V -patmega328p -carduino "-PCOM3" -b115200 -D "-Uflash:w:C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\sketches\D20F289404B7EA2FE53C55B9838D1A8F/clg.ino.hex:i"

avrdude: Version 6.3-20190619
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM3
         Using Programmer              : arduino
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 115200
         AVR Part                      : ATmega328P
         Chip Erase delay              : 9000 us
         PAGEL                         : PD7
         BS2                           : PC2
         RESET disposition             : dedicated
         RETRY pulse                   : SCK
         serial program mode           : yes
         parallel program mode         : yes
         Timeout                       : 200
         StabDelay                     : 100
         CmdexeDelay                   : 25
         SyncLoops                     : 32
         ByteDelay                     : 0
         PollIndex                     : 3
         PollValue                     : 0x53
         Memory Detail                 :

                                  Block Poll               Page                       Polled
           Memory Type Mode Delay Size  Indx Paged  Size   Size #Pages MinW  MaxW   ReadBack
           ----------- ---- ----- ----- ---- ------ ------ ---- ------ ----- ----- ---------
           eeprom        65    20     4    0 no       1024    4      0  3600  3600 0xff 0xff
           flash         65     6   128    0 yes     32768  128    256  4500  4500 0xff 0xff
           lfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           hfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           efuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           lock           0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           calibration    0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00
           signature      0     0     0    0 no          3    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00

         Programmer Type : Arduino
         Description     : Arduino
         Hardware Version: 3
         Firmware Version: 4.4
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
         Vtarget         : 0.3 V
         Varef           : 0.3 V
         Oscillator      : 0.017 Hz
         SCK period      : 3.3 us

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: AVR device initialized and ready to accept instructions

Reading | avrdude: error reading signature data for part "ATmega328P", rc=-1
avrdude: error reading signature data, rc=-1

avrdude done.  Thank you.

Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

coldfire23 · June 2, 2023, 3:28am

uploaded again and got this output

timinelmira · June 2, 2023, 3:41am

This is an issue in IDE 2.0.0 rc2 (may or may not apply to you). If you have more than one window open, ensure the serial monitor is not open in any other window. This is a simple mistake: if you have the serial monitor open in the window you are working in, then inadvertently open another window (e.g. you open an example script to compare codes), the serial monitor will automatically open in the new window as well. It appears that 2.0.0 rc2 has an issue with not being able to focus on one window.

sterretje · June 2, 2023, 5:01am

@timinelmira, this topic was posted in the IDE 1.x category so we assume that OP uses IDE 1.x

Further IDE 2.0.0 rc2 is so old that it would be advisable to upgraded to IDE 2.1 (in case you haven't done so yet.

ptillisch · June 2, 2023, 6:35am

From this path in the output @coldfire23 shared I could see they are using Arduino IDE 2.x. The topic has been moved to the appropriate "IDE 2.x" forum category.

There were some previous reports of this "can't set com-state ..." error occurring specifically when using boards that have the CH340 USB chip. It seems that a driver upgrade included in a recent Windows update is the cause of this problem.

The affected users have found that uninstalling and reinstalling the CH340 device fixed the problem. I'll share the instructions you can follow to do that:

Close Arduino IDE if it is running.
Connect the Arduino board to your computer with a USB cable.
Open the Windows Device Manager.
Select View > Devices by type from the Device Manager menus.
Open the "View" menu.
If there is a ✓ to the left of the "Show hidden devices" menu item, click on "Show hidden devices" to disable it.
Open the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section of the Device Manager tree.
You should see a port identified as "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" under the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section (where "COM_n_" is some serial port e.g., COM4). Right click on that item.
A context menu will open.
Select "Uninstall device" from the context menu.
An "Uninstall Device" dialog will open.
Check the box next to "☐ Attempt to remove the driver for this device" in the "Uninstall Device" dialog.
Click the "Uninstall" button.
Wait for the uninstallation process to finish.
Unplug the USB cable of the Arduino board from your computer.
Wait for the Device Manager tree to reload.
Connect the USB cable of the Arduino board to your computer.
Wait for the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" port to reappear under the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section of the Device Manager tree.

My experience is that the device will be reinstalled automatically by Windows after you plug the board back into the computer, as indicated by the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" port reappearing in the last step of those instructions. However, it is maybe possible that the complete driver removal will actually have been accomplished by the above instructions, in which case it would be necessary to reinstall the driver. If this happens to you, please let me know and I'll provide instructions you can follow to install the driver.

Once the port has reappeared in Device Manager, start Arduino IDE again and try uploading again. Reply here to let us know whether the error still occurs.

coldfire23 · June 6, 2023, 10:54am

Sketch uses 7708 bytes (23%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 496 bytes (24%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1552 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
"C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/bin/avrdude" "-CC:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf" -v -V -patmega328p -carduino "-PCOM3" -b115200 -D "-Uflash:w:C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\sketches\D20F289404B7EA2FE53C55B9838D1A8F/clg.ino.hex:i"

avrdude: Version 6.3-20190619
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "C:\Users\coldfire\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino17/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM3
         Using Programmer              : arduino
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 115200
         AVR Part                      : ATmega328P
         Chip Erase delay              : 9000 us
         PAGEL                         : PD7
         BS2                           : PC2
         RESET disposition             : dedicated
         RETRY pulse                   : SCK
         serial program mode           : yes
         parallel program mode         : yes
         Timeout                       : 200
         StabDelay                     : 100
         CmdexeDelay                   : 25
         SyncLoops                     : 32
         ByteDelay                     : 0
         PollIndex                     : 3
         PollValue                     : 0x53
         Memory Detail                 :

                                  Block Poll               Page                       Polled
           Memory Type Mode Delay Size  Indx Paged  Size   Size #Pages MinW  MaxW   ReadBack
           ----------- ---- ----- ----- ---- ------ ------ ---- ------ ----- ----- ---------
           eeprom        65    20     4    0 no       1024    4      0  3600  3600 0xff 0xff
           flash         65     6   128    0 yes     32768  128    256  4500  4500 0xff 0xff
           lfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           hfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           efuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           lock           0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           calibration    0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00
           signature      0     0     0    0 no          3    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00

         Programmer Type : Arduino
         Description     : Arduino
         Hardware Version: 3
         Firmware Version: 4.4
         Vtarget         : 0.3 V
         Varef           : 0.3 V
         Oscillator      : 28.800 kHz
         SCK period      : 3.3 us

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1
         Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
         this check.


avrdude done.  Thank you.

Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

coldfire23 · June 6, 2023, 10:54am

I followed your steps and tried uploading again and got this error.

pert · June 17, 2023, 5:27am

A post was merged into an existing topic: Avrdude: ser_open(): can't set com-state for "\.\COM5" Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

golartvr · July 19, 2023, 11:59pm

FQBN: arduino:avr:nano
Using board 'nano' from platform in folder: C:\Users\gazev\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\hardware\avr\1.8.6
Using core 'arduino' from platform in folder: C:\Users\gazev\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\hardware\avr\1.8.6

Detecting libraries used...
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-g++" -c -g -Os -w -std=gnu++11 -fpermissive -fno-exceptions -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -fno-threadsafe-statics -Wno-error=narrowing -flto -w -x c++ -E -CC -mmcu=atmega328p -DF_CPU=16000000L -DARDUINO=10607 -DARDUINO_AVR_NANO -DARDUINO_ARCH_AVR "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\cores\\arduino" "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\variants\\eightanaloginputs" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\sketch\\sensor.ino.cpp" -o nul
Generating function prototypes...
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-g++" -c -g -Os -w -std=gnu++11 -fpermissive -fno-exceptions -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -fno-threadsafe-statics -Wno-error=narrowing -flto -w -x c++ -E -CC -mmcu=atmega328p -DF_CPU=16000000L -DARDUINO=10607 -DARDUINO_AVR_NANO -DARDUINO_ARCH_AVR "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\cores\\arduino" "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\variants\\eightanaloginputs" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\sketch\\sensor.ino.cpp" -o "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\preproc\\ctags_target_for_gcc_minus_e.cpp"
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\builtin\\tools\\ctags\\5.8-arduino11/ctags" -u --language-force=c++ -f - --c++-kinds=svpf --fields=KSTtzns --line-directives "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\preproc\\ctags_target_for_gcc_minus_e.cpp"
Compiling sketch...
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-g++" -c -g -Os -w -std=gnu++11 -fpermissive -fno-exceptions -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -fno-threadsafe-statics -Wno-error=narrowing -MMD -flto -mmcu=atmega328p -DF_CPU=16000000L -DARDUINO=10607 -DARDUINO_AVR_NANO -DARDUINO_ARCH_AVR "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\cores\\arduino" "-IC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\hardware\\avr\\1.8.6\\variants\\eightanaloginputs" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\sketch\\sensor.ino.cpp" -o "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\sketch\\sensor.ino.cpp.o"
Compiling libraries...
Compiling core...
Using precompiled core: C:\Users\gazev\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\cores\arduino_avr_nano_cpu_atmega328_a5dd524945e26afede5edaa0691a6b66\core.a
Linking everything together...
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-gcc" -w -Os -g -flto -fuse-linker-plugin -Wl,--gc-sections -mmcu=atmega328p -o "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.elf" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96\\sketch\\sensor.ino.cpp.o" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/..\\..\\cores\\arduino_avr_nano_cpu_atmega328_a5dd524945e26afede5edaa0691a6b66\\core.a" "-LC:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96" -lm
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-objcopy" -O ihex -j .eeprom --set-section-flags=.eeprom=alloc,load --no-change-warnings --change-section-lma .eeprom=0 "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.elf" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.eep"
"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-objcopy" -O ihex -R .eeprom "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.elf" "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.hex"

"C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Arduino15\\packages\\arduino\\tools\\avr-gcc\\7.3.0-atmel3.6.1-arduino7/bin/avr-size" -A "C:\\Users\\gazev\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\arduino\\sketches\\5AA1475716E404D81CF2646631659A96/sensor.ino.elf"
Sketch uses 2508 bytes (8%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30720 bytes.
Global variables use 190 bytes (9%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1858 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
avrdude: ser_open(): can't set com-state for "\\.\COM30"
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

ptillisch · July 21, 2023, 6:21am

There were some previous reports of this "can't set com-state for ..." error occurring specifically when using cheap derivative boards that have the CH340 USB chip. It seems that a driver upgrade included in a recent Windows update is the cause of this problem.

The affected users have reported that doing a "roll back" to an older version of the driver was an effective workaround. You can give that a try.

I'll provide instructions:

Open this tutorial from SparkFun in your browser:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ch340-drivers/all#drivers-if-you-need-them
ⓘ We are using this tutorial as a source for an older version of the CH340 drivers. Generally I recommend only obtaining drivers from the manufacturer of the device, but WCH does not provide older versions of their drivers and SparkFun is trustworthy.
Click the "Windows (EXE)" link you see in red under the "Drivers (If You Need Them)" section of the tutorial.
Wait for the download to finish.
Run the downloaded CH341SER.EXE file.
A "User Account Control" dialog may now appear asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?". Click the "Yes" button.
A "DriverSetup(X64)" dialog will appear. Click the "INSTALL" button in the dialog.
Wait for the driver installation to finish, as indicated by the appearance of a "Driver install success!" dialog.
Click the "OK" button in the "Driver install success!" dialog.
Click the X icon at the top right of the "DriverSetup(X64)" dialog to close it.
Close Arduino IDE if it is running.
Connect the Arduino board to your computer with a USB cable.
Open the Windows Device Manager.
Select View > Devices by type from the Device Manager menus.
Open the "View" menu.
If there is a ✓ to the left of the "Show hidden devices" menu item, click on "Show hidden devices" to disable it.
Open the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section of the Device Manager tree.
You should see a port identified as "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" under the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section (where "COM_n_" is some serial port e.g., COM4). Right click on that item.
A context menu will open.
Select the "Drivers" tab of the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_) Properties" dialog.
You will see a "Roll Back Driver" button in the dialog. If it is not clickable, perform the following instructions:
1. Select "Update driver" from the context menu.
  An "Update Drivers Device - USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" dialog will open.
2. Click on "Search automatically for drivers" in the "Update Drivers Device - USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" dialog.
3. You should now see the driver installation wizard update the driver. Wait for the update to finish, as indicated by the message "Windows has successfully updated your drivers" in the dialog.
  It is possible you will instead see the message "The best drivers are already installed". If so, please stop following the instructions here and reply on the forum thread to let me know. I'll provide alternative instructions you can follow.
4. Click the "Close" button in the "Update Drivers Device - USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" dialog.
Click the "Roll Back Driver" button in the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_) Properties" dialog.
The "Driver Package rollback" dialog will open.
Click the radio button next to "My apps don't work with this driver" in the "Driver Package rollback" dialog .
Click the "Yes" button.
Click the "Close" button in the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_) Properties" dialog.

Now start Arduino IDE again and repeat whatever you were doing before when you encountered that error. Please reply here to let us know whether the error still occurs.

ihateavrdude · July 31, 2023, 5:27am

ptillisch i got the pop up saying the best driver are already installed
pls guide me further i have an important project to create

ptillisch · July 31, 2023, 5:58am

Hi @ihateavrdude. Please follow these instructions and then reply here on the forum thread to let us know what you found:

Open the Windows Device Manager.
Select View > Devices by type from the Device Manager menus.
Open the "View" menu.
If there is a ✓ to the left of the "Show hidden devices" menu item, click on "Show hidden devices" to disable it.
Open the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section of the Device Manager tree.
You should see a port identified as "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_)" under the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section (where "COM_n_" is some serial port e.g., COM4). Right click on that item.
A context menu will open.
Select the "Drivers" tab of the "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_) Properties" dialog.

Do you see "3.4.2014.8" after the "Driver Version" in that "USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM_n_) Properties" dialog?

ptillisch · July 31, 2023, 6:02am

If it is important, I recommend you buy a replacement board. This error seems to be specific to the very cheap Chinese boards of questionable provenance. Most of the affected users have managed to get the boards working eventually, but you are taking a very big risk if you are depending on low quality hardware for an important project. It would be wise to source your hardware for an important project from a reputable supplier.

ihateavrdude · July 31, 2023, 6:00pm

i agree i ordered one now thanks for the heads up
from now on i wont rely on these cheap chinese boards thanks

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Avrdude: ser_open(): can't set com-state for "\\.\COM3" Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

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