I'm a fairly new Arduino user, and I need help figuring things out!

[wccoder]

I haven't used arduino that much, but since I've started, I've received countless error messages, even when I'm using pre-provided code. What could I be doing wrong?

[PaulRB]

You are making the same error that many beginners make. You assume the members of this forum have psychic superpowers.

[ruilviana]

@wccoder

What could I be doing wrong?

Welcome to the forum.

Your wrong is : not following the forum rules. Read

How to get the best out of this forum

See also FAQ - Arduino Forum for general rules on forum behavior and etiquette. Hello, Welcome to the Arduino Forum. This guide explains how to get the best out of this forum. Please read and follow the instructions below. Being new here you might think this is having rules for the sake of rules, but that is not the case. If you don’t follow the guidelines all that happens is there is a long exchange of posts while we try to get you to tell us what we need in order to help you, which is frus…

[gilshultz]

@wccoder

I've received countless error messages, even when I'm using pre-provided code

You’re right; there are thousands of possible errors, but you’re likely encountering only a handful. Writing a manual for every possible error and permutation isn’t practical. To get accurate help, please provide detailed information about your setup, as @ruilviana and others have requested. Many of us prefer an annotated schematic over Fritzing diagrams or pictures.

[xfpd]

@wccoder

What could I be doing wrong?

If your IDE is installed correctly AND your sketch is in a folder of the same name, then the next probable error possibly is you have not installed the correct libraries from the #include line(s)

[hammy]

Run some of the examples in the ide.
And get those to work ?
File /examples/basic

[StefanL38]

Here is a tutorial how to adjust the Arduino-IDE to report all possible details about the compiler-errors

If you get a compiler-error or an upload-error provide all details for analysing the error

Hi newcomer, the Arduino-Forum community can be of great help. If the community is able to support you in a way that helps solving your problems depends on detailed information that you should provide. trying to be quick by posting a too short posting is just slowing down finding the solution. Because all that happends is that you are asked for the detailed information and have to provide it anyway. Only difference the answer and the solution comes later The most important thing is to post …