that might not be the first post on this problem, however in this case, my board(uno) was working fine before and i was able to upload sketches no problem..
but now, suddenly it stopped to identify when the board is plugged.
i went to device manager, but there was no LPT and COM option available there
i tried to reset the board, but it wouldn't reset!
i have another uno board, but it works fine. so its not in the installation procedure.
@Nick, no i couldn't, the led won't flash...
also i sensed some heat on those small surface mount components behind the atmel chip beside the 2 capacitors...
i have a shift register IC connected to digital pins 8,11,12, a servo motor to pin 9 and two sharp IR sensors to A4 and A1 in addition to the GND and 5v goes to the breadboard.
i also have a 12volt li-po battery(1800mah) that i sometimes power the uno with..