I have been using a Genuine Arduino Uno for quite some time with no issues at all. I decided to try the Nano and purchased a Genuine Arduino Nano off of Amazon. When I connect it to my MS Surface Book, it is recognized in the device manager as an "FT232R USB UART. No com ports are available in the device manager, and likewise, no com ports show up in the "tools" / "Ports" section of the IDE. I have confirmed that I have the latest version of the IDE (1.8.13) and the latest version of the "Arduino AVI Boards" driver V 8.1.3 installed. Does anyone know how to get Windows to recognize the Nano as a com port like the Uno? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
IIRC the actual driver for that older model is in a DRIVERS ZIP file in the installation director for the IDE.
In may case some time ago I simply unzipped that archive and then pointed windows at it for the driver install.
Most newer Arduinos use an atmel chip for the USB.
First off, thank you very much for your help. I went into the Arduino "Install" folder and then to the "Drivers" folder and found the "Old_Arduino_Drivers" zip file. I unzipped it to a new folder, went into the device manager, opened the "Other Devices" tree and right clicked on the "FT232R USB UART" item and selected update driver. I selected "Browse My Computer For Software" and navigated to the folder I unzipped the file to, but it returned "Windows can not find any drivers for your device" (I did have the "include sub folders box checked"). When I examined the contents of the folder I unzipped the files to, I saw plenty of Arduino drivers, but none for the "Nano".
That being said, I am still stuck with the Nano not being recognized as a Nano, and only shows up in "Other Devices" as an FT232R USB UART in the device management console, and the USB port is not showing up in either the Device Manager or the IDE. Any future help will be greatly appreciated.
(deleted)
FTDI USB Drivers.zip (1.2 MB)
Thank you very much SpyCatcher. I appreciate your time and help greatly! I will try out the driver after work today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this does the trick. I will be sure to let you know how I made out.
Hi again SpyCatcher. I unzipped the file you sent to a new folder. I opened the Device Manager and as soon as I plugged in the Nano, a device showed up called "FT32R USB UART" with a yellow triangle as before. I right clicked on it and selected "Update Driver", then selected "Browse my computer for Driver Software", and navigated to the new folder containing the files in the zip you sent. I made sure the "Include Subfolders" check box was checked and clicked "Next". It started reading the drivers and terminated with the following error:
------------- Begin Error Message --------------
Windows encountered a problem installing the drivers for your device.
Windows found drivers for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install them.
USB Serial Converter
The hash for the file is not present in the specified catalog file. The file is likely corrupt or the victim of tampering.
If you know the manufacture of the device, and visit their website and check the support section for drivers.
-------------- End Error Message ---------------
Note this is the same message I got when I tried ballscrewbob's suggestion above. So sorry to be a bother, but if you have any other suggestions, I am all ears (or eyes as the case may be). In any case, thank you for all your help.
Then you need to turn off Driver signing which is sometimes needed even for legitimate drivers and software.
All driver signing really means is Microsoft got a chunk of money to say the driver is OK.
It also in some cases means microsoft may have tampered with the driver too which is a common cause of other issues.
Drivers that are direct from a manufacturer of hardware are 99% safe compared to 97% compatible is MS got thier grubby hands on them.
With a lot of years under my belt in IT I trust the manufacturer more than MS.
ballscrewbob you are awesome! Thank you very much for all your help. Turning off driver signing did the trick. I installed the drivers after telling M$ i wanted to installed the "unknown" sourced driver death message, and now it works! I totally appreciate your help. I could not have done it with out you and the other forum members. I am eternally grateful.
It is what we are here for.
Enjoy your Arduino adventures but never let the magic electrickery smoke out.