Thunderbolt woes
 

I’m trying to get Thunderbolt working on my Win 10 machine...it’s an ASUS X99 mobo, so naturally I got their EX 3 Thunderbolt card. I have tried everything I can think of, followed instructions on some online forums, but I can’t for the life of me get this card to work. Doesn’t show up in device manager. Wondering, therefore, if anybody else has successfully jumped thru this hoop? (Some have suggested a Gigabyte Alpine TB 3 card.) I thank you in advance for your assistance. Have a UA Apollo 8 in an unopened box, but if I can’t get TB working,
it goes back to the store and I stick with my 003 rack. :confused:

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Yes. Install latest bios, (if MB is listed as supported on TB3 card page, Install latest drivers first before installing card, Making sure card is in supported pcie slot; default bios, enable TB in bios. Update firmware on TB3 card. Once configured, power down system. Unplug power cable. Hold power button in for 30 secs. The plugin power cable and power up. During post the computer may delay and restart again as bios configures. Then hopefully it will work.


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Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Thanks for the info. Which pci slot is your TB card in? I had the card in the pci slot right next to the tb header, that didn’t work, now it’s in the last slot, and it still doesn’t work. Did as you said, installed latest driver, then the card (uninstalled everything before moving it) and still nothing. Does not appear in device manager. And this is odd...went into BIOS and made sure TB support was there (it was) then spent 30 unproductive minutes with ASUS tech support...when we went back into BIOS, thunderbolt had disappeared from onboard devices, even though NOTHING was changed. I haven’t updated the bios yet (makes me REAL nervous) but I’m wondering now if I got a defective card.
Glad SOMEBODY got this to work. I’d really like to crack open this Apollo box and take the giant step forward.

Thunderbolt woes
 

Mine is in slot two. Depending on your MB the bios and slot position can be different. My board, depending on the bios would work and not work. Latest bios is working MB again is listed as supported.

Asus was of no value with support for me.

Manual should state the supported slots. Which board do you have?


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Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

X99-A usb 3.1,looks to be the same as yours. I think I got a defective card. I just ordered a Gigabyte card, which I’ve seen highly recommended by other users.
Nonetheless, I need to suck it up and update my bios, I suspect. Uncharted territory for me.

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

I recently updated the bios on an older Gigabyte motherboard. I was nervous at first, since I had never done a bios update before. The Gigabyte site was helpful and I got it done just fine !!! I also learned how to backup my motherboard settings.:cool:

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Well, I might be certifiably NUTS here, but I’ve been looking at the Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI-rev-10 motherboard, with integrated Thunderbolt. About $275, and my cpu & ram will fit, and since it’s an x99 chipset, I shouldn’t have to reload Windows.....hmmmm....if the GB CARD doesn’t work, there’s always this route. Is the Apollo worth all the extra steps?

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Thunderbolt addon cards aren't actually traditionally PCIe. You have to get the specific card for that motherboard and the motherboard has to support adding Thunderbolt -- there are no options.

The addon card is actually tapping into the motherboard's specific access to the lanes needed for Thunderbolt. So it's all very specific about which card you can get and where you need to place it.

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Understood, I have a supposedly compatible ASUS X99 “thunderbolt ready” motherboard, and procured an ASUS EX 3 thunderbolt card (as stated above) but nothing worked. Asus was no help whatsoever, by the way. I did some exploring and have found a small handful of people that had instant success with a Gigabyte card on this very ASUS motherboard. Seems like I’m not the first to beat my head against the wall on this one. GB card should be here in a couple of days and we’ll see what happens.

Re: Thunderbolt woes
 

Update. Gigabyte card didn’t work either. Even updated my bios (nothing to it, by the way.)
Options; Apollo Firewire, or just leave it alone.