Gemma RED LED not pulsing for bootloader

[queensknight03]

I recently ordered a gemma and received it. I have been attempting to get my arduino IDE set up and all drivers installed. When I connect the gemma via usb (both a usb 2.0 and a 3.0 port) it doesn't seem detected by the system and is not prompting to install the new device. Also, it doesn't seem to make any difference if I attempt to install the drivers without the prompt for new device. While the gemma is connected to USB, the green power LED is lit, but pressing the reset button only displays the red led solid for about 3 seconds. I don't see the light pulse or last for 10 seconds. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

for additional information, I am using a Win8.1 laptop that seems to work perfectly fine with the Arduino Uno that I have. I went through all the other steps to set up the Arduino IDE such as swapping out the avrdude conf file, and the other needed changes.

[Franklin97355]

My Trinket (same chip as Gemma) blinks even if just plugged into a power supply. If you would try a different USB cable I would appreciate it and if that does not work Please email [email protected] with a link to this thread for a replacement.

[queensknight03]

Wow, that was one thing I didn't try. I swapped out for a different cable and it appears to be working properly now. Or at least working better. I still have to watch the device manager for usbtiny to appear just to make sure pushing the sketch will work. I seem to have to reconnect and disconnect the usb cable several times.

[AnneBarela]

Push the reset button then immediately upload the sketch, that is the normal operation.

Bad USB cables are about 50% of all Trinket/Gemma issues

[queensknight03]

even with the reset button, sometimes it's not appearing in device manager. I've got a ton more cables, i'll start going through them and see if another one works even better. But thanks for all the help everyone.

[AnneBarela]

When device manager shows it, it is in the “libusb-win32 devices” section (as USBtiny). It will not show in the USB section nor as a serial (COM) port.

[queensknight03]

I know that, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. When it appears there, then I know I can push a sketch to it. There have just been a couple of times where I hit the reset button to place the gemma into bootloader mode, usbtiny didn't appear in the device manager, and I wasn't able to push a sketch. I'll keep playing with extra cables to see if that makes a difference.