Getting Started Arduino

This section will presume you have a PC running Windows or a Mac running OSX (10.3.9 or later). If you use Linux as your Operating System, then refer to the Getting Started instructions on the Arduino website at http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/Linux.

 

Get the Freeduino and the USB Cable

Firstly, get your Freeduino board and lay it on the table in front of you. Take the USB cable and plug the B plug (the fatter squarer end) into the USB socket on the Freeduino. At this stage do NOT connect the Freeduino to your PC or Mac yet.

 

Download the Arduino IDE

Download the Arduino IDE from the Arduino download page. As of the time of writing this book, the latest
IDE version is 0015. The file is a ZIP file so you will need to uncompress it. Once the download has finished, unzip the file, making sure that you preserve the folder structure as it is and do not make any changes. If you double-click the folder, you will see a few files and sub-folders inside.

Install the USB Drivers

If you are using Windows you will find the drivers in the drivers/FTDI USB Drivers directory of the Arduino distribution. In the next stage (“Connect the Freeduino”), you will point W i n d o w ʼ s A d d N e w Hardware wizard to these drivers.

If you have a Mac these are in the drivers directory. If you have an older Mac like a PowerBook, iBook, G4 or G5, you should use the PPC drivers: FTDIUSBSerialDriver_v2_1_9.dmg. If you have a newer Mac with an Intel chip, you need the Intel d r i v e r s : FTDIUSBSerialDriver_v2_2_9_Intel.dmg. Double-click to mount the disk image and run the included FTDIUSBSerialDriver.pkg. The latest version of the drivers can be found on the FTDI website.

Connect the Freeduino

First, make sure that the little power jumper, between the power and USB sockets, is set to USB and not EXTernal power (not applicable if you have a Roboduino board, which has an Auto Power Select function). U s i n g t h i s jumper you can either power the board from the USB port (good for low current d e v i c e s l i k e LEDʼs, etc.) or from an external power supply (6-12V DC). Now, connect the other end of the USB cable into the USB socket on your PC or Mac. You will now see the small power LED (marked PWR above the RESET switch) light up to show you have power to the board.
If you have a Mac, this stage of the process is complete and you can move on to the next Chapter. If you are using Windows, there are a few more steps to complete.

source : Arduino Starter Kit Manual