Following the steps to down load drivers for the uno and the intructions asked to look under ports and it seems that that option is not listed please help.
I'm a newbie as well (not certified, though). Got my first Arduino and arduino software running yesterday.
I found an "unknown device" a little bit above the place mentioned in the instructions ( above the "serial ports" tree ).
I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium, BTW.
Applied the driver folder to that device ( ignoring the warning that it might harm my computer ) and voila, the "unknown device" turned into a COM3 Arduino .
Hope this is your problem, too, else you might try explaining your problem a bit closer.