Appendix A. Installing the Arduino IDE
This appendix details how to install the Arduino IDE on the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms. The Arduino IDE for all platforms is available from the Arduino website (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software). Download the IDE package for your platform and continue with the appropriate installation section for your operating system.
Arduino for Windows comes packaged as a zip file, so once it’s downloaded you must first extract its contents. Browse to where you downloaded the file (typically your User/Downloads folder) and double-click the zip file. As shown in figure A.1, extract or drag the containing folder to somewhere accessible on your hard drive, such as C:\Program Files.
Now that you have the Arduino package copied to your computer, you’re ready to install the drivers for your board. Follow the instructions in the appropriate subsection for the board and version of Windows that you’re using.
To begin the driver installation process, connect your Arduino Uno to the computer using a USB cable. The Uno board is USB-powered, so the green ON LED will light up. Once connected, Windows will attempt to install the board’s drivers, but it will fail. This is OK!