Swapping to a shorter cable didn’t help. It looks like it working without having to reset it was just luck? I tried my SparkFun Cerberus USB Hub Cable, and a stock Red Micro USB to USB cable that Pimoroni sell.
If I open Thonny I have access without having to press stop? No “Device is busy” message, it’s just sitting there doing nothing? My file is saved as code.py? And runs without error from Thonny? Also runs just fine after pressing the captain resetti reset button.
The examples, rainbow, and reactive-press run on boot. It lights up as soon as I press the power button on the PC.