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Question

How does thunderbolt work?

by May 3, 2018 10:47AM PDT

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong part of the forum.

Please can you explain how thunderbolt works. I've got a Dell XPS 15 9560, which has a thunderbolt 3 port. I have a USB C to USB A cable. The C-end goes into my laptop. What can I plug the A-end into? I thought all devices were compatible, so I tried plugging in my external hard-drive (which happens to have USB A ports), except that didn't work (I'm guessing only certain hard-drives work?)

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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Answer
How it works will not fit in this small space.
by Forum moderator May 3, 2018 11:10AM PDT

You can start at https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all and more articles on the web.

As to the drive, there are so many reasons for this not to function from power to blown file systems. There's also the problem of cheap cables. Sorry but for now there's not enough clues for me to guess if it's a cable, power or file system issue. Add more detail about the cable and drive.

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Cable and hard-drive details
by the.buddha May 3, 2018 12:56PM PDT
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If the drive works on other PCs
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 3, 2018 12:59PM PDT

I'd call it a bum cable. If the drive doesn't work elsewhere, then you have drive problems.

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Works as usb 3.0
by the.buddha May 3, 2018 2:04PM PDT

The hard-drive works completely fine on my Dell laptop when plugged in via USB-A. It's when I use this wire and try the thunderbolt port that my laptop doesn't recognise it at all.

Does that confirm that the cable is the problem, or is it possible that the hard-drive isn't compatible with thunderbolt?

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Or
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 3, 2018 2:08PM PDT

A driver problem. Is the machine stock? With only Dell drivers? Check with your service tag at Dell for BIOS and drivers for chipset and if USB or Thunderbolt are listed.

To confirm a cable issue, you need to try it on another Thunderbolt laptop.

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