Moderator: igrr
In order to load any program you must first hold the GPIO button on the ESP8266. The red LED should stay on while the button is held. WHILE holding the GPIO button press the RESET button on the ESP8266. Release the RESET button first and then release the GPIO button. The red LED should be glowing at half brightness. You can now upload to the ESP8266 through the Arduino IDE.
Hope it helps!
I had the same issue with the nodemcu board.
I installed the CH340 btw. CH341 driver and it works for me.
Maybe it will work for you too?
Tobias