Arduino Micro issues

[fyre]

Hello I am very much a beginner at electronics and hoping for some help. Here are my Basics:

I am running  on a mac 10.6.8, the board is an Adruino micro, and I have tried multiple usb to micro connectors one of which is brand new and bought from Adafruit. The blue Adruino micro power light comes on as well as the orange light next to the reset button. When the reset button is pressed, the orange light goes off then green on-board light pulses for a couple seconds then the orange light turns back on.
I have my heart set on this project and everything was going great with the build; until...

Round one:
I got my Adruino micro in the mail and ran gleefully to the computer. Opened the Adruino program (IDE) and selected the micro, then looked for the port. From the start the usb port was not showing correctly they were all listed as Bluetooth modem ( 4 options all Bluetooth something) and all the forums say it should appear as a dev/usb; but I finally found one that uploaded  and blink worked, Then I connect my external power source and led strip uploaded the long strand test and after several attempts my led strip lit up. Then I attempted to upload a custom program to run through a series of programs with button. configurations, but upon going back into the program (IDE) the dev/usb port was no longer listed. I disconnected. Everything was removed and the Adruino went back in its box and on my wooden shelf. Thinking maybe it was my usb to micro cord that was causing issues I bought another cord and waited.

Round two:
Took adruino micro out of original packaging again, connected external power and led strip. Plugged Adruino into usb and again no dev/usb port showing up. It shows up on the computer under network devices (as an un-configured modem) but the port all the forums tell me to look for starting dev/usb is nowhere to be found.  I went back to the forums...I found this awful sounding work around that seemed like it worked at first: Press the upload button in the program (IDE), then press the reset button on the arduino micro chip, then go into tools and select the dev/usb location where the board is located. reset/select/click/reset/click -doesn't seem right but I really want this project to work... hit the rest on the Adruino and opened port options, Halleluya! the dev/usb port option appears I select it, compile my code and bam orange error: not uploaded because port could not be found, try compiling code resetting and uploading. Apparently the timing of this has to be perfect and I it seems do not have perfect timing besides that can not possible be normal. The posts/”solutions” which suggest this method as a work around explain that when the reset button is pressed, (for what ever reason) the program (IDE) looks for the chip in any connected ports for 8 seconds from initially being connected. However, even upon attempting this, the proper port shows up and can connect for a moment, but it doesn't stay
selected/available to be selected under the list of ports.

Round Three:
Using an HP PC running windows 8.1, I attempted to use the Arduino IDE to upload my desired program to the chip. Firstly I installed the IDE, but upon opening it, I noticed that the port section within the tool menu was grayed out and unable to be selected. I searched online and found a number of remarks that suggested updating my drivers/installing drivers to recognize properly. I downloaded and attempted to update the drivers, but to no avail. When I plugged the arduino micro into the USB port on my PC, a notification popped up indicating that the device I plugged in was unrecognizable and or the drivers were out of date. I attempted to update the drivers a few different ways, searching the arduino library files, having my computer search for driver files online, as well as searching google for other possible solutions. Sadly I was unable to find a solution or method that resolved this problem either. So all in all, for the PC attempt the IDE was unable to select a port which the chip was connected to, and the chip was unable to be recognized by the computer even after attempts to update drivers.


I can not seem to find any other solution after spending hours on the forums and google.
Is there something wrong with the board itself?

p.s:
I did find a couple posts that seemed to have similar if not the same issue as I had with my Mac, but none of the posts had actual conclusions or solutions and they all seemed to be left unresolved. Just in-case that was going to be a suggestion.

[adafruit_support_rick]

Stick with the mac. Arduino is awful on Windows.

Sounds like your Micro may be defective. If you bought it from adafruit, please email [email protected] with a link to this thread for a replacement

[fyre]

So an update is in order.

After ordering a replacement for the board which seemed to not work, our new one arrived in the mail. I plugged it in and began to upload code. It worked! I managed to get some LED strip code to do a test and cycle through the colors. I decided that I wanted to use an IR remote I had, to use as a means of changing modes for my LED strip. But upon plugging the board into my computer ONLY FOR THE SECOND TIME, the port where it was plugged into was no longer visible. I did nothing but add the wires (not soldered or anything) for the IR receiver. I am at my wits end. I cannot fathom how the board is unable to be recognized the second time I plug it in, but the first time it is clearly and successfully recognized. This appears to be the same course of events I ran into with my previous board as well. Board was seen and successfully uploaded to, but upon a second or any further attempts to upload to, the board is unrecognizable.

Is there something I could be doing or anything that could happen which could cause the board to not be recognized. It was stored in it's shipped cardboard box on a wooden shelf after i programmed it the first time. It was kept away from any materials or devices or power sources etc on the off chance any interference could create a problem.

[adafruit_support_rick]

Any chance you could update the mac to something newer than 10.6.8? Or is this a PowerPC?

Disconnect the IR receiver - does that help?

Does the Micro show up in System Report under USB?

[fyre]

Rick,

Sadly I'm working on an Imac which was one of the first rounds/production lines of them, maybe G4 or G5, it's been a while. I got it in 2005 or 2006 I believe. Sadly I am unable to upgrade to a newer version of the OS, combination of Ram & processor limitations. I would need to get better of both to have a chance for an upgrade. But unfortunately those are not possible.

I tried connecting the Micro with, and without the IR hooked up, but sadly there was no visible change or difference between either instance.

On the first attempt with this (newest) chip, it plugged in and recognized just fine. Uploaded a program and ran without issue. I then tried to use a program which utilized buttons, which I added to the chip, then uploaded the program for button controls. The LED strip just glowed solidly and the buttons seemed to have no effect. I got frustrated after trying to modify the code to try to get it to work. I unplugged the chip and all the components attached, then I safely stored them away until I decided what next to do.
I came across a tutorial on how to use an IR remote, having a couple in my possession already, I decided that might be a better choice than buttons. But when I had connected everything to the Micro and plugged it in, it did not show up on the ports as being hooked up.
When plugged in to a USB port, the device is no longer recognized/is not even seen as being plugged in (system shows that USB port is empty).

[adafruit_support_rick]

What does the LED on the Micro do when you press Reset on the Micro?

Do you have a self-powered USB2.0 hub you can try connecting through?