Win7 drivers and Adruino UNO Start Pack

[thatley]

Win7 drivers and Adruino UNO Start Pack.

So i got this Arduino Starter Pack as a birthday present. Cool.
BUT i am having the following problem(s):
1 - I followed the tutorial and in Lesson-0 i downloaded a set of drivers from the FTDI website. (lesson is seriously outdated) These drivers did not work with the UNO board when i plugged it in. I had to had modify the FTDI *.inf files to provide VIDs and PIDs that matched the hardware, UNO board.
Was the Arduino(UNO) board supposed to have custom VID and PID numbers? If so where are the matching drivers?

2 - Even after modifying the *.inf files I don't get a COM device in the device manager. Likely my modification to the *.inf files where inaccurate or incomplete. Needless to say i did not pay that much attention, i was already irritated that i had to do this much work to get an off-the-shelf product to work...

3 - When i began trying to probe the system for information i would get random PC reboots. Anytime I would go to the Device-Manager and select usb-serial device and doa right-click | properties, my machine reboots.

4 - When i go looking for technical support i can't call anyone and i can't email anyone. I have to log into a forum, ugh!

At this point i think i would just like to get my brother's money back...

[adafruit]

eek editing the FTDI drivers was where you took the wrong turn!
UNINSTALL THE FTDI LIBRARY NOW!

then follow

http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows

to install the Uno drivers

[Rocketrob]

I too, was following "lesson 0," but found no reference to the http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows link (which explained it very well). This info for downloading and installing drivers and selecting "board" and "serial port" should also be mentioned at the start of "getting started - lesson 0"

I figured it out in the end, and I love the challenge if learning, but I can see how this could be frustrating for someone just starting out.

A humble suggestion from an Arduino Newbie