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Installing the Arduino Mega Driver on Windows 7

Goal: Installing the the Arduino Mega device driver on Windows 7.

LANforge CT70x attenuators require recently signed Arduino drivers. The automatic driver install process for Windows 7 might automatically install a Microsoft Windows version of the Arduino Mega driver. This is not the driver LANforge expects. These instructions will guide you how through uninstalling an old driver and installing the new driver from the Arduino website.
If you have recently removed a driver, you might need to reboot your Windows system for it to complete the driver installation process.
 
  1. You want to install the windows version of the LANforge Server beforehand.

    For more information see Installing LANforge Server on Windows

  2. Follow the link to the Arduino project to download the latest driver :Download Arduino IDE screenshot
  3. Download the Arduino IDE zip file to your desktop. Use Right-click→Extract All... to expand the contents to a folder on your desktop. screenshot
  4. This process requires you to operate the Control Panel as Administrator. Some patch-levels of Windows 7 have secured this. A useful work around for this will be discussed shortly.
  5. Getting to the Device Manager
    1. In Control Panel, select Hardware and Sound screenshot
    2. Select Device Manager screenshot
    3. In the Device Manager window, right-click on the computer and select Scan for hardware changes screenshot
      1. There will be an Other devices→Unkown Device entry. Right-click on it. If the options menu only gives you either Scan for hardware changes or Properties, you might need to restart your control panel as Administrator, that is discussed next.

      2. Using the Run as Administrator option to start the Control Panel in administrator mode.

        1. This works best with a CMD window pinned to the task bar. You can do that using Start Menu→ cmdENTER; and then right-click→ Pin to Task Bar option on the task bar icon for the cmd.exe window.
        2. Then right-click→ Run as Administrator on the CMD taskbar icon screenshot
        3. Repeat your navigation steps to get to the Device Manager

  6. Uninstall Old Driver

    If you find a previously installed driver, uninstall it. Especially if this is labeled Windows Arduino Mega
    1. Right-click → Uninstall screenshot
    2. Select Delete the driver software for this device, and click OK screenshot
    3. Right-click on the computer, and select Scan for Hardware Changes
    4. You might need to un-plug and plug-in your Attenuator.
    5. If the right-click options menu does not allow you to change drivers, reboot your system.

  7. Install new driver

    Select Browse my computer for driver software
    1. Browse to Desktop\arduino-1.8.9\drivers and click Next screenshot
    2. You will see the Update Driver Software confirmation. Click Close. screenshot
  8. You should not need to reboot your system in order to run the Attenuator.
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