I connected my Elegoo Uno R3 via usb to my computer and uploaded code repeatedly many times, just fine. Then I took it out to my project, plugged in the same USB cable to my buck converter's USB port that runs at 5v, tested my code and it worked perfectly. I also tested the output of the buck converter with my multimeter and found it to be just under 5v, which is expected.
I took it back to my computer (windows 10), plugged it in, and now I'm getting a "USB Device not recognized" error, explaining that the device has "malfunctioned" and windows doesn't recognize it. I opened device manager and tried automatically updating drivers, then I manually updated drivers and that did nothing as windows told me "The best drivers for your device are already installed" and refused to install the Arduino drivers I wanted. Arduino IDE is not detecting it either. Now I did run it on the buck converter at a very low voltage (1.5 or so volts) for a few seconds on accident, maybe that caused the code to get corrupted on startup in the bootloader or something?
It's ok to plug in my Elegoo Uno R3's USB cable to a power source at 5v to run it, right? Or did I do something wrong and fry a component or corrupt it? The green and orange led's still light up, and when plugging it in my code still runs and works 100%. I've tried different USB ports, a different computer, a different USB cable, the device is just not being recognized anymore and I can't make any edits to my code or get Arduino to detect it. The code still runs perfectly fine and I've examined the board and found no fried bits or faults. I just can't connect it to my computer anymore, frustrating since that inherently bricks a $20 arduino.
I have an arduino nano that arrives tomorrow to replace this uno, and I'm planning on using the same buck converter to run it. However I really don't want to risk breaking it again.
This was the only other post I found that is almost 1:1 to my situation, and I'm hoping its a problem exclusive to the Elegoo Uno R3. Is this a common problem with the cheaper boards like the Elegoo, and am I safe to use the Arduino Nano with its usb port at 5v? Or is it likely my buck converter at fault and should I power it another way?
Any thoughts, tips, suggestions, would be really appreciated!