When I start the Arduino IDE 1.8.9 or 2.3.0 on Windows 10 and open the Tools tab, the Port button is grayed out, and that doesn't change when I plug in a working Feather. (I have 8 Feathers that work just fine when plugged into the working PCB). When I look at the device manager, nothing changes when I plug in a working Feather. A year ago this problem didn't exist and I was able to develop a useful device that calculates the amount of wood cut on a firewood processor. But when I try to upload to new boards and open the IDE, I encounter this problem. There must be a missing driver that got updated that I'm not aware of. Many thanks for any help you can render..
cheers, ronmacmedia247
Verify your USB cable is a data cable (some USB cables are power-only) by plugging it into a telephone, inserting it into a computer and listening for the system chime.
thanks for your quick reply... The Port tab is grayed out the minute I start up the IDE, so there is no chance for a data cable to connect. I have 10 USB cables and they all worked well a year ago... something else is wrong, and I'm pretty sure it isn't the data cable.
That is normal. Next, the IDE will either recognize the board connected to the USB and allow port and board selection, or remain grayed out until a board is sensed on the USB port.
You want to talk about "last year" and not today. Your choice.
Perhaps there is a problem with your PC. Do you have any other
'known good' boards like a uno, nano, etc. You could try?
The IDE only knows about ports that the ooerating system knows about. So if the IDE does not see it, the questions os if Windows recognises the boards?
Two possible reasons for Windows not to recognise it
- Charge-only cable; you say that they worked last year so let's assume that they are OK.
- Assuming your Feathers (which one do you use exactly) have native USB support, a bug in the uploaded code can prevent them from being recognised.
For the second point, if Windows does not recognise them, what happens when you double tap the reset button (connect one if your board does not have one). Is it recognised? Boards with native USB usually also fade the L-LED in and out for approximately 8 seconds after double tapping the reset button.
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