While in a sketch under IDE 2.0.2 I was getting pop-ups that 2.0.3 was available. I said OK while still in my sketch. When it appeared to be finished the download I closed my sketch thinking I could re-open it and 2.0.3 would start. Not so. I saw no Windows Install Wizard popping up. The 1st couple of times I started sketches again it was still 2.0.2. Then the shortcut on my desktop I use to start 2.0.2 became invalid saying the code had moved. After that every one of my sketches failed to open saying the names were wrong (spaces, special characters). They were all accepted before. Finally after changing them all and the folder names, it is starting version 1.8. something. Where is version 2.0.3? Why am I getting 1.8? If I have to download everything again, 1) where is the download site. and 2) Do I have to uninstall or delete all previous folders and files or will 2.0.3 do that for me? I do not want to use a previous version. Thanks
Brewsterblock
On my Windows 11 machine it is at:
C:\Program Files\Arduino IDE
That is where I would check.
Note: I keep two versions of it on my machine:
The releases and nightly.
The nightly I update using the zip files.
There have been a few times when the nightly one prompts me if I wish to update to a new release.
What I am personally unsure of, is if I say yes at this point, if it will install at the default location or will it install where the install I am running is currently located, or last place the software installer was told to install it.
Did you click one of the buttons on this dialog?:
If so, which button did you click?
When the update is successful, it should be installed to the same location as the previously installed version of Arduino IDE.
You chose the location when you installed Arduino IDE, so I can't say for sure where that would be. I can tell you where the default paths are though:
These are the default paths when installing Arduino IDE if you downloaded the IDE by clicking the "Windows Win 10 and newer, 64 bits" link on the "Software" page:
The "Chose Install Location" dialog of the installer allows you to configure a custom installation location. If you did that, the IDE is at whatever custom location you chose. Otherwise it is at the default location, which depends on which option you selected from the "Choose Installation Options" dialog of the installer:
If you selected "Anyone who uses this computer (all users)"
C:\Program Files\Arduino IDE
If you selected "Only for me (<user name>)"
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE
(replace <username> in the path with your Windows username)
The download links are listed on the "Software" page:
It should not be necessary.
It will install to the last place the software installer was told to install it.
If you don't have an existing installation of Arduino IDE made via the .exe installer package,
there is a different behavior depending on which button you click on this dialog, which the IDE shows after you have finished downloading the new version during the update process:
If you click the "NOT NOW" button then when you eventually exit Arduino IDE (e.g., File > Quit), the IDE will silently install to the default location:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE
If you click the "CLOSE AND INSTALL" button, then an interactive installer dialog will open that allows you to select who to install the application for:
The IDE will then be installed to the default location, which is different depending on who you chose to install the application for:
If you selected "Anyone who uses this computer (all users)"
C:\Program Files\Arduino IDE
If you selected "Only for me ([<user name]>)"
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE
(replace <username> in the path with your Windows username)
Thanks,
The one case that I mentioned is suppose I installed by zip files. It is prompting me to update, like:
So I select the download option.
I select close and install... For all users.
It installs, but it does not install in the location of my ZIP file install and I double click and get the same prompt to update...
I know what is going on now... But it surprised me as up till then I had only installed by ZIP.
I personally will get around this forever type prompt as I will download the daily guild which had its version number bumped up.
But I mainly mentioned it here, it the above user maybe did install by zip.
OK good news. After failing to determine whether I had a version of 2.0.3 anywhere on my PC I found an executable IDE file in the path you mentioned above:
C:\Users<Bruce>\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE. n the past I have clicked "NOT NOW" but on the 5th I clicked CLOSE AND INSTALL. It contains files with Dec 5 dates (yesterday) when I downloaded 2.0.3. It eventually started and was indeed version 2.0.3 which I am testing as I write. I had also checked the box that the version is for me only. However
However I also found these other paths:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino where arduino.exe shows created and modified dates of 2/13/2020.
Another is:
C:\Users<Bruce>\AppData\Local\Arduino15 (no "Programs" in the path and as well under it C:\Users<Bruce>\AppData\Local\arduino-ide-updater. These also have dates in files of Dec 5, date of 2.0.3 download.
Now I am thoroughly confused but if this version of 2.0.3 continues to start and run should I delete the C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino versions from 2020?
(FYI I used CTRL-ALT-DEL on Windows to view Task Manager under the Details TAB. Then righted click any column heading to select other columns of info. There are lots. One is "Image Path Name". That is where I found the executable IDE which I double clicked to re-start IDE which was 2.0.3. It appears to have been running or installing without my knowledge. I created a new desktop shortcut for that exe file since windows rejected my old shortcut to 2.0.2 saying it no longer pointed to IDE and was invalid. Apparently 2.0.3 is in a different location. This is a good way to now where the version you are executing exists on your machine.
Hi @brewsterblock. I'm glad you got Arduino IDE 2.0.3 running!
Arduino IDE has a potentially problematic behavior when you update it in this way. What happens is when you exit Arduino IDE after clicking that button, the installation of the update runs silently in the background. Since Arduino IDE is a fairly large application, this takes some time to finish. It is possible you might interfere with that installation unknowingly since there is no indication anything is happening (unless you noticed the process running in Windows Task Manager). For example, you might shut down your computer or start Arduino IDE again.
This poor user experience is tracked by the Arduino IDE developers here:
This is likely your installation of Arduino IDE 1.8.x
This is where Arduino IDE installs the boards platforms you install via Boards Manager as well as some other files. This is a supplemental folder, not a separate Arduino IDE installation.
As the name suggests, this is a folder used by the Arduino IDE 2.x auto-update feature (it is separate from the IDE installation folder because the installation folder is cleared during the update process).
If you still have a use for Arduino IDE 1.8.x, then you can leave it. It won't cause any problems for your Arduino IDE 2.x installation because they are two separate applications.
If you don't have a use for Arduino IDE 1.8.x, you should make sure to do a proper uninstall instead of just deleting that folder, which would leave the registry entry for Arduino IDE 1.x behind. You can do that by running the file at this path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\uninstall.exe
Or if you want you can use the standard Windows "Programs and Features" utility to uninstall Arduino IDE 1.8.x. It will be the one with the round Arduino icon named "Arduino" (Arduino IDE 2.x has a squarish icon with the name "Arduino IDE").
Great feedback. Thanks so much. I had probably done all of the above.
You are welcome. I'm glad if I was able to be of assistance.
Regards,
Per
In this dialogue I have seen mention of a nightly build? Can someone expand on this? Most of my postings above have involved my PC virtually grinding to a halt whenever I use IDE 2.0.3 or earlier for several hours and then close it. The other night after such an active day my PC ground to a virtual standstill. I restarted and also powered off. For the first time ever I could not start W10 - latest build. It could not even get by my login (I use a PIN). It made a horrible noise. At one point it posted a notice about a bad address location. Never before! Yesterday I went shopping for a new PC. I thought mine was about to die. I left it overnight - sometimes I have had overheating problems but it will notify me and shut down when this happens. I've replaced the fan twice. However the next morning W10 started as per usual. Yesterday and today it is running better than ever! There is only one thing I can conclude. For 2 days I have not started IDE. I am avoiding it. Something is clogging up my PC. Now I am wondering if it is in this auto update mode for IDE and being 10-12 years old my HP Pavilion g6 just can't handle the load. The memory issue is a mystery unless IDE clobbered some memory. Right now it is quicker than it has been since I started hooking my Arduino to it. Again I have not started IDE or plugged in the board. Any thoughts on whether IDE is the culprit? Can I turn off auto update and only run it while nothing else is running? Makes me wonder if I should keep this old girl JUST FOR IDE and if I buy a new PC I should not risk installing IDE on it. (Right now my learning progress has halted. I am trying to duplicating some great tutorials on YouTube by Paul J. Mcwhorter). Any suggestions?
Arduino's developers work on the Arduino IDE codebase on a daily basis, but the production releases are only made every several weeks. This means that there are new enhancements and bug fixes in the codebase that users of the production releases won't have access to until the next release comes out.
This is fine for the average user who only wants a stable version of Arduino IDE to use for working on their projects, but some members of the community want to help out with the development of this free open source software project by beta testing and then reporting any problems they find.
These beta testers must always use the current development version of Arduino IDE if their feedback is to be of real value. Theoretically they could build Arduino IDE from the source code, but this is somewhat complex so the requirement would act as a barrier blocking some community members from getting involved with contributing to the project. So Arduino set up a system that automatically builds Arduino IDE from source every night. The beta testers can then simply download that "nighty build" and use it as normal instead of having to build it themselves.
First of all, the nightly build is completely unrelated to the Arduino IDE auto updates for you. It is possible to adjust the advanced settings to make it so you would get notifications of availability of a newer version of the nightly build, with the option to install it, but the default setting is that the auto-update notifications are only presented for the production releases. You have that default setting, so Arduino IDE knows nothing about the nightly builds and you can forget all about them until such time in the future when you might be far enough along to maybe consider getting involved in contributing back to the development work on this project that benefits the entire Arduino community so much.
Second, Arduino IDE only checks for updates on startup, so your PC would only be affected by an update check when you start Arduino IDE. At all other times, whether the IDE is running or not, it is completely irrelevant. So you must look elsewhere to find the cause of your mysterious computer problems.
Yes, but I'll repeat again that the update check only happens when you start the IDE. I'll provide instructions:
- Press the Ctrl+Shift+P keyboard shortcut (Command+Shift+P for macOS users) to open the "Command Palette".
- Select the "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)" command from the menu.
- A "Preferences" tab will now open in the Arduino IDE main panel. In the "Search Settings" field, type
arduino.checkForUpdates - the checkbox under the "**Arduino: Check For Updates**" setting.
- Close the Preferences tab by clicking its X icon.
Do as you like, but I think that would be silly. Many thousands of people are using Arduino IDE 2.x. We would surely hear from every single one of them whose computers were killed by Arduino IDE.
The IDE does not thoroughly cleanup after itself. It leaves stacks of empty directories and a number of files.
Not behind a PC at the moment so can't tell you where exactly they are, it's somewhere in AppData.
Thanks ptillisch. Hope I am not offending. It is just that I have never experienced some of these events and it seems too coincidental that they have been happening since I began my Arduino / IDE testing and it has run so smoothly and quickly for the last 2 days without using either. For sure I will be focused on any re-occurrences especially when I am not using either. I am about to resume my learning so we will see what happens. I am also researching other websites that talk about potential slowdowns on Windows. My tutor Paul McWhorter has many dozens of tutorials on all Arduino boards and I have not heard him mention any of this either. He would likely have a powerful machine because his compiles are much faster than mine for an identical sketch. I am not technically savvy enough to participate in any development (only ever learned PL/1 back in the '70s. That will draw a blank look or a laugh from today's developers!)
No offense taken. I am not trying to deny that Arduino IDE may be the cause of the problems you are having with your current computer. I am only pushing back on two things because I think they can harm your progress:
- I think you are focusing too much on the auto-update as the cause of the problem even though there is no clear correlation between the two other than that you had trouble with an update.
- You are extrapolating the problems you are having with your current computer to the next computer even though my experience tells me that you will have no problem running Arduino IDE 2.x in a fresh environment on a newer and more capable machine.
These are some locations that you can clean out relating to the Arduino IDE
C:\Users\yourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Arduino IDEfor log filesC:\Users\yourUsername\AppData\Local\Temp
- directories
.arduino-unsaved* - directories
arduino-ide2* - directories
arduino-language-server* - directories
arduino-sketch*; they however might be from IDE 1.8.x - files
*.clangd - files
dd_updateconfiguration* - files
*.ico; possibly not all but a lot of them contain icons used by the IDE - You can search for directories containing
index.json; most, if not all of them, are IDE related. Current directories that contain them on my system are 'numbered' like5577......... - I think that
gdb-server*is also created by the IDE and can be removed.
C:\Users\yourUsername\.arduinoIDE,logsdirectory
The problem with all those directories and files is that Windows might in some way access them at startup; e.g. for indexing; even if they are empty. This can slow down your start of Windows.
How much free space do you have available on your C-drive? I one day ran into extremely low free diskspace and it took my Windows 10 system (2nd gen I3, 8GB RAM) an hour to boot 
A general cleanout (not limited to the directories and files mentioned above and not limited to the temp directory) solved that.
Got it. Have to agree. Thanks. Only 1 new thing: My typical session is:
- Start IDE 2.0.3
- It usually opens my previous sketch.
- I usually do a file/open/new to create a new sketch from my current tutorial.
- Close the previous sketch (Always close with "X" in upper right)
- File/Save As the new sketch under a new name.
- follow the tutorial doing several file/saves as I work.
- Twice yesterday I did a final SAVE but when I tried to close IDE ("X") a pop-up warned me to save my sketch. There were 2 options to save or not. I clicked save then closed IDE.
- When I started IDE next time it invoked the same sketch but all my changes were lost. It was the initial version of code from the start of the last session.
Now as a precaution I am copying the entire sketch to Notebook before I close.
Does IDE do any auto-saves?
Hey sterretje. Of 677 gb on my C drive I have only 118 used and 558 free from Properties in File Explorer. Seems like quite a bit. My latest problem is that updates to sketches I am working on aare not being saved! Not sure WHAT is happening. I have tried bot using the X in upper right that prompts for me to save. I click save. I also try file/save. I am losing a lot of updates this way. IDE 2.0.3. I keep my sketches in a folder in my own Documents. It seems to read from there ok but not save. Any ideas?
Just noticed I never replied to your point about square and round icons. I have pinned the square one to my START in Windows10 and indeed it is 2.0.3. But sometimes in my sketch library if I start an older sketch from there by clicking on it I see what looks like a large sheet of graph paper with square patterns across the bottom. It is much larger than the round/square icons. Not sure if I can repro it now but I think it also mentioned "Genuino" or something like that. Any idea what that is?
Check to see whether the sketch folder or file is read-only. You can do that by following these instructions:
- Open the folder containing the sketch in Windows "File Explorer".
- Right click on the folder or file you want to examine. This will open a "context menu".
- Select "Properties" from the context menu.
- Check to see whether the checkbox next to "Attributes: > ☐ Read-only" is checked.
If it is checked, you should uncheck it to make the folder/file writable.
There is a known bug in Arduino IDE that causes saves to silently fail when the sketch is read-only. This is one possible cause of the problem you experienced.
If you find the sketch is not read-only, please let me know and I'll give you some other instructions you can follow to investigate further.
By default, yes. The auto-save feature is configurable in the preferences. I'll provide instructions you can follow to check whether it is turned on:
- Select File > Preferences... from the Arduino IDE menus. This will open a "Preferences" dialog.
- Check whether the checkbox next to "
☑Auto save" in the dialog is checked or unchecked. - Click the "OK" button to close the "Preferences" dialog.
Note that Arduino IDE indicates a sketch is unsaved with a ⬤ on the right side of the sketch editor tab. If auto save is enabled and working, you should see it appear for a short time after you edit the sketch, then disappear as the autosave operation is completed.
The description reminds me of a spreadsheet, but that is not certain.
"Genuino" is an alternative trademark for "Arduino" that was adopted as an emergency backup some years back when there was a legal dispute over the ownership of the "Arduino" trademark. Fortunately that was settled and the Arduino company definitively owns the "Arduino" trademark now so the use of the "Genuino" trademark has been abandoned, but you will still occasionally see vestiges of that word sprinkled around.