Which driver to install for Arduino, ESP32 or ESP8266 Development boards

Introduction

When you first receive your development board you will want to plug it into your computer.
What happens when your computer doesn't recognise it?
You become annoyed, frustrated and confused.

So what to do?
It turns out that these boards have interface chips or Integrated Circuits (IC) that require drivers so that they can communicate to your computer.

Chip Identification

So how to identify the interface chip


This is a CH340 IC that can be seen to have 16 pins and in a rectangular shape.
Instructions for installing CH340/CH341 drivers.


This is a CP2102 or CP2104 IC that is a square shape.
Instructions for installing drivers for CP210x





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