I recently got my hands on an Arduino Uno starter kit (I believe it is a clone) and I am having issues with getting the initial blink test to run.
At first, I had trouble getting Windows 8 to accept a driver (I've tried unplugging and replugging in the USB A/B cable and restarting my computer) and after a bit of research on Google found out that you have to disable device signature for the drivers in the BIOS. After I did that, it let me install a driver but I have my doubts that it is the correct one because my device manager doesn't even recognize that it is an Arduino.
After installing the IDE and driver for the Uno, I tried to run my blink test. I could select the board type but the port selection is grayed out. I did some more research, and the forums and Google keep pointing at a driver issue.
The problem here is that in every fix I have found it says to find your Arduino under "Ports (COM&LPT)" or "Other Devices" in the device manager, but my device is under "USB controllers" as an unknown device. All my attempts to install a driver for it either end up with a "The folder you specified doesn't contain a compatible software driver for your device" or "The best driver software for your device is already installed" message. Also, the device status in the device manager is "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43). A request for the USB device descriptor failed."
NOTE: I have tried using the folders with the Arduino drivers, the Old_Arduino_Drivers.zip(after extraction, of course), the Chinese CH341SER driver, and the FTDI drivers for windows. I have had no luck with any of these.
I realize that there are a lot of threads on this forum and a lot of them are similar to mine, but no thread I have seen has had a relevant fix. It is very frustrating and I would appreciate any help, thank you.