Student Kit - Getting Started: Can't Upload First Example (Blink) / Filtered by Tutorial - Help!

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Hello Everyone

I'm new here and wanting to learn basic electronics / repair / ...
so I bought an Arduino Student Kit (official, with Arduino R3) which seemed like a good starting point to learn basic electronics before soldering etc

Followed all the steps of the Student Kit - Getting Started section, but am stuck at uploading the Blink sketch (the first example of the course)

I've tried on MacOs Tahoe (M1 Pro/16GB) and an up to date Windows 11 System (Intel Core Ultra 9), both to no avail,

From what I've read online, additional security features in both MacOS and Windows have made setting up / getting started with Arduino a lot less Plug'n'Play than it used to be:

Understanding how to connect Arduino to PC environments in 2026 requires more than just plugging in a cable. With the transition to USB-C on newer boards, stricter OS-level security protocols, and a saturated market of clone boards, establishing a stable serial connection is a multi-layered compatibility challenge.

From: "How to Connect Arduino to PC: OS & Hardware Compatibility Guide"

===

The Mac is USB-C only and needs a dongle to connect regular usb from the Arduino,
from what i've read this can be part of the issue so I suppose it's best to try and get it running on the Windows machine first with regular/direct USB connections
(the USB Dongle is an official Apple one, so I would be more likely to assume it works, but who knows -- if that takes out some of the guesswork)

From what i've read online the USB cable can be an issue, but I'm using the official USB cable that came with the Student Kit / Arduino R3, and have tested it for continuity on all 4 pins and all 4 pins seem to be ok, so i suppose the cable should be able to pass data, also since it's literally brand new out of the box, unfortunately i don't have an alternate "data transfer device" (like a camera) with USB-B to test if it succesfully transfers data

I also tried with an aftermarket high quality USB-C to USB-B cable, used for dj'ing so reliability is a top concern for those cables, both cables give the same results on the MacOS Tahoe install or Windows 11, so i would ASSUME it's not a faulty cable issue but rather Driver / Security related, but idk

Windows 11:

Error: cannot open port \\. \COM5: The system cannot find the file specified.

Error: unable to open port COM5 for programmer arduino
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

Note: COM5 can be COM3/COM4/COM5/COM6

In Windows, first of all in Device Manager the "Ports (COM & LPT)" dropdown was not showing on my system, it was only after going through:

Device Manager > Action > Add legacy hardware > Next > 
Install the hardware that i manually select from a list (Advanced) > 
Ports (COM & LPT)

...that I got the "Ports (COM & LPT)" dropdown to show up in the device manager.

I then tried that 4 times:

  1. Communications Port (COM3)
  2. Adafruit Circuit Playground (COM4) [I saw that name (Adafruit) appear somewhere during the install process iirc, so I just installed this one thinking "who knows")
  3. Arduino Uno (COM5) [Selected from "Arduino LLC (www.arduino.cc)" in the "Add Hardware" Wizard]
  4. Arduino Uno (COM6) [Selected from "Arduino Srl (www.arduino.org)" in the "Add Hardware" Wizard]

All these ports now show up in the Device Manager under the Ports (COM & LPT) dropdown, though all have a yellow checkmark; i can now also select a port in the IDE which I could not do before since it was not showing any ports, but trying to upload the sketch with any of the ports throws the error above.

Windows does not play the "Device Connected/Disconnected" sound when I plug in or unplug the Arduino (with either cable), but when connected the Green Power LED is on solid and the orange LED right next to Pin-13/GND blinks (same behavior on mac and windows with both cables)

I also tried installing the CH340 driver from here:
https://sparks.gogo.co.nz/ch340.html
as i saw this mentioned in different places, but from what i can tell this is for non official boards that use a different chip than the official R3 and this shouldn't be necessary, right?
Though it didn't give the standards succes message when complete, it said something like "succesfully installed in preparation," can't remember the terms exactly or find it again online right now, but i saw other people had the same types of messages either smth like "successfully installed" or "successfully installed in preparation"

MacOS:

Sketch uses 924 bytes (2%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 9 bytes (0%) of dynamic memory, leaving 2039 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: unable to open port /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port for programmer arduino
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

MacOS throws the same error with both cables too,
i don't remember the exact steps i took and since this post is already long enough and i would like to focus on getting it to work on Windows first, i will update on Mac in future if necessary

===

Where to Go from Here?

After all that, what would be the easiest / quickest way to get up and running with Arduino?
If i could get up and running with what I have now, that would be great,

if not, is Linux an easier platform to get Arduino running? I've used Ubuntu before, so if it's related to stricter security in MacOS and Windows, if Linux is still "Plug'n'Play" setting up a secondary boot or maybe even a cheap pc with Linux may be the best option to get started -- and I can see if I can maneuver the security maze / hurdles on Mac/Windows later once i got the basics down

OR is the best option to get an additional starter pack with the Arduino R4? Since the R4 is more modern, does it work better / easier with modern systems? If i can get that one up and running quickly I could do the Starter Kit exercises and then the Student Kit exercises with the R4 instead of the R3, and then see if I can get the R3 working in the future

I also tried both the new IDE (2.3.10) and the legacy IDE (1.8.19), since I read that that resolves the issue for some people, but the legacy IDE doesn't fix the issue either

From what I can tell there are more people struggling with this, so sorry if this question has been posted and answered before, but I'm at the end of my wits :sweat_smile:
It's probably something silly / easy once you know it but before continuing to mess around installing and uninstalling / trying random stuff and perhaps botching my OS installation, I thought it was best to seek some advice here :wink:

Thanks in advance!
Cheers! :clinking_beer_mugs:

2

@3mbry0 , welcome to the Arduino forum.

Could I ask whether the kit you purchased is one of the Starter / Student kits from the Official Arduino Starter kit, or a third party kit from another manufacturer?

The COM port information you provided suggests it is identifying itself as an Arduino branded board and you do refer to an Arduino R3 and a 4 pin USB cable`. However if it is, then the CH340 driver would not be required. The driver should install automatically from Windows update. However, there are also a number of kits around from various suppliers, so it would be helpful to identify exactly what kit and board you have.

The "Arduino LLC" and "Arduino SRL" driver descriptions may indicate that you have two versions of the Arduino driver installed. The "LLC" version of the driver is the current version, the "SRL" being legacy and obsolete, so should be removed. They may be conflicting.

3

That (above) is a MAC system showing this device/peripheral ("/dev/cu").

That looks like a successful message for CH341 (notice the "1") that the web site you gave call the "4.0" driver.

You should have see these messages...

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2
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image
image781×572 28.2 KB

I am using a CH340 Nano (green arrow)

image
image781×572 26.7 KB

Show your "Device Manager" where you see "Ports (COM & LPT)" to show the Genuine Arduino driver.

4

Thanks for the fast reply @BitSeeker !

The Arduino Student Kit was an official kit (with a login code for the course; which I read is not required anymore, but anyway), this one purchased from kiwi-electronics :wink::
https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/en/arduino-boards-shields-and-accessories-147/arduino-student-kit-10490

So for all I know (again, new here / first arduino ^^) 100% an official Arduino one not a clone only not purchased from arduino.cc directly.

I may add that the COM ports in the Device Manager only showed up there AFTER I added them MANUALLY via

Device Manager > Action > Add legacy hardware > Next > 
Install the hardware that i manually select from a list (Advanced) > 
Ports (COM & LPT)

so they did not show up from connecting the Arduino, only AFTER adding them manually AFTER I already tried to run the Blink Example Sketch with the arduino connected (following the steps in the Student Kit Course),
when that didn't work I read about the Driver and Device Manager stuff and gave each of those options a shot to see if that made a difference

===

So if i got this right the only driver I need is the LLC version, i will try if removing all the other ones and reinstalling only the LLC one makes a difference or fixes it :crossed_fingers:

5

Windows does not allocate COM ports until a device is inserted. IF the device is NOT recognized, NO COM port will be allocated.

A blink.ino will not load, due to no recognized port (because no driver is ready to communicate with the USB device)

If the Arduino is original/genuine, the FTDI driver (original Arduino comm chip) is installed during Windows installation... or so I thought.

[edit] - I like to test COM ports by using a generic, off-the-shelf, wireless mouse USB "dongle"... they seem to be robust enough to work in any Windows O.S. and Linux (I have had dozens of Linux machines) without installing any extra driver. Device Manager is where I verify the port works... and for Linux: lsusb -l

6

Ok so I tried:

  1. Uninstall the SRL driver only, restart, try to run the Blink Sketch:
Error: cannot open port \\.\COM5: The system cannot find the file specified.
Error: unable to open port COM5 for programmer arduino
Failed Uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

(COM5 = LLC Driver, same error for COM3 & 4)

[On Legacy IDE 1.8 "Tools" > "Port" is still grayed out, so also no change]

  1. Uninstall the other 2 drivers, leaving only LLC driver, restart, try to run the Blink Sketch:
    Same error as 1. -- in legacy IDE 1.8 port selection still grayed out

  2. Uninstall the LLC Driver, restart, , try to run the Blink Sketch:
    Can't run the Blink Sketch since i can't select a port anymore since all the drivers have been removed

  3. Turned off Security Settings (Memory Integrity, Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection, Memory access protection, Firmware protection, Enhanced sign-in security) Just to be sure, read somewhere that could botch the driver install.
    Then tried connecting the Arduino without manually installing Driver to see if windows would now install the drivers automatically and the Port Dropdown would appear again in the Device Manager, but no

I tried it with the third party USB-C to USB-B cable now, and for the first time windows made the "Device Connected" sound, and behold:

It now shows up in Device Manager under Ports (COM & LPT) > USB Serial Device (COM3)

This got added AUTIMATICALLY AFTER PLUGGING IN, not a manual driver install

===

And it now works guys! :partying_face: :partying_face: :partying_face:
Thanks for the replies! ;)

Was able to upload the sketch, and also to edit the timer of the blinking twice to make 100% sure it was actually working, since the light was already blinking :face_with_tongue:

EDIT: @xfpd thanks for reaching out too, i'm a bit burned out on reading and typing for tonight but i'll read through it again tomorrow and edit a proper reply :face_with_tongue: :nerd_face:

7

If an FTDI driver update needs to happen...

https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/4411305694610-Install-or-update-FTDI-drivers

(this link covers Mac, too.

8

Was just writing a reply but then saw your post. So it sounds like the cable that came with the kit may be suspect and probably the reason why you had problems on the Mac as well. Your third party cable seems to be working OK since you got the confirmation sound. Of course then, having detected the board connected with a good USB cable and with the previously installed drivers now cleared, Windows could do its stuff.

Whether disabling security features played any part is doubtful and I would try re-enabling them one by one, to check whether anything changes. It shouldn't. If at some point it does break again, then you will know that it was the last feature enabled. I would not recommend disabling Windows security features unless absolutely necessary and then only temporarily.

Above all, now that the UNO R3 is set up and working, enjoy the kit and learning Arduino!

9

Perhaps you meant to write "USB ports" instead of "COM ports"? In Windows, the term "COM port" is used to refer specifically to serial ports. Since a mouse dongle surely doesn't produce a serial port, the use of the term "COM port" in this context could be confusing.

I do agree that checking to see if a connected "known good" device is recognized by the system is an excellent technique for verifying the functionality of the USB socket on your computer when experiencing problems with Arduino boards not being correctly recognized.

The official UNO R3 board included in @3mbry0's kit uses an ATmega16U2 for its USB interface. So an FTDI driver is not required.

10

You seem to have an additional space. When I force an error I get

Error: cannot open port \\.\COM4: The system cannot find the file specified.

Installation of legacy drivers should not be necessary (and I would remove them all). Which version of the IDE did you install? Did you install the MSI or the ZIP version.

Installation of the IDE should have prompted you to install drivers.

  1. Did it indeed prompt you?
  2. Did you agree to instal the drivers?

For IDE 2.x, the drivers for official Arduino boards on a Windows system can be found at C:\Users\yourUsername\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\hardware\avr\1.8.8\drivers. Are they there?

11

Generally speaking, getting up and running on Windows, 10 or 11 now, a download of the IDE, using a a genuine basic board like an earlier Uno or Nano, is a straightforward, trouble-free business.

All it really needs is to select the right board in the IDE, check that the COM port is the correct one and good to go.

If starting out, you really don't want to be tinkering with drivers etc.

The official Arduino documentation guides you through the process.

12

One thing I'd add since nobody's mentioned it yet: if Windows doesn't even play the device-connect sound when you plug the board in, I'd suspect the USB cable first. A surprising number of cables are charge-only with no data lines, and that's the most common reason a board just doesn't show up at all. If you're using your own cable, try another one (ideally the one from the kit). And skip any USB hub — plug straight into the computer.

13

huh

send us visual pics, maybe we could determine?

14

It is true that this is frequently the cause of problems like what @3mbry0 encountered. However, that possibility was already eliminated:

It is true that the problem was resolved by using a different cable:

However, note that was a USB-C to USB-B cable, whereas the cable from the kit is USB-A to USB-C. So clearly the cable change was accompanied by a different way of connecting the board to the computer. I would guess that is the more relevant change to the system.

15

"Cable" was mentioned 14 times, with a link to. "How To" before your comment.

16

Presumably for a UNO R3, one end needs to be USB-B? The point, however, is taken that one cable may have been connected to a USB-C port on the computer whereas the other to a USB-A port, which would constitute a different way of connecting.

AFAIK, the UNO only supports only USB2.0. Whether a USB2.0 device being plugged into a USB-C v3.x port is relevant on Macs might be a question for someone familiar with Macs, but OP did also mention he was using some kind of Apple dongle:

Since he said that tried both cables on the Mac, and the UNO R3 is supported out of the box on a Mac as it is on Windows - no extra drivers required - I wondered whether the adapter might be the issue? Well, it seems that this piece of hardware should be able to connect most USB peripherals except USB-B high-speed devices. However, this post on the apple forum might also be relevant:

Second, beginning with Ventura, you must now approve any newly connected external devices before they will become available on the USB-C ports. You can modify these settings in the Ventura System Settings under the "Security & Privacy" section. I have the option "Allow Accessories to Connect" option set to "Always when unlocked" so I am not prompted for confirmation if I am logged in at the time an external device is connected, but there are other options as well....but my setting or "Always" is good for testing devices which are not currently working to avoid an issue with being prompted while trying to figure things out.

Tahoe is more recent than Ventura. Maybe the relevant permission needs to be set to allow the UNO R3 to be able to connect via the USB-C port on the Mac?

OP does also mention testing the cable that came with the kit:

All things being equal, that cable should have worked, but he reports later that he only got the Windows jingle when using the third party one. It seems at least possible that the cable with the kit is intermittent which can be difficult to discover using only a DMM. A Treedix USB cable tester is perhaps a better option for that kind of test as the corresponding light(s) will flicker if a conductor in the cable is suspect. Still, failure of cables in official Arduino kits, unlike cheaper ones provided in third party kits, is apparently rare so there might yet be another explanation.

17

Use one of these if you have an official Arduino UNO:

Screenshot 2026-10-08 at 12.24.21 PM
Screenshot 2026-10-08 at 12.24.21 PM776×860 187 KB

They are cheaper than the Apple dongle approach and work perfectly.

18

Yes, sorry I meant to write that but failed to do so.

Yes, or alternatively to the same port via a USB hub or other adapter. Either way, that change could be more significant than the cable itself.