I have an external hard drive with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connection the I want to plug into a 2014 Mac Mini with Thunderbolt 2 (MiniDP) ports. I have the Apple adapter and need a Thunderbolt 2 cable. The cables I see all say for monitors. The same cable should work for a hard drive, correct?

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"he is going to start WW3!!!!"

Yes. I have used TB2 cables for monitors and external drive housings without penalty.

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.

Thunderbolt 2 and mini-displayport cables use the same connector. If what you are looking at say they are just for monitors, then they are mini-displayport cables. You need one that is Thunderbolt 2, there are electronics in the connector. For illustration purposes something like what is listed here - [www.amazon.com]. I haven't used these personally, but have used Cable Matters products in the past that were okay. Apple and OWC also still sell Thunderbolt 2 cables.

Is your TB3 hard drive bus-powered (i.e. "portable") or self-powered (plugs into external power)?

If it's the portable bus-powered kind, that set-up won't work. None of the TB3/TB2 adapters pass power, so you will need some sort of powered TB3 device first, i.e. a TB3 dock, which greatly increases the cost of the setup.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2022 12:43PM by Gareth.

Thanks everyone. I was wondering if there is a difference between DP cables and TB2 cables. I fond this cable on Amazon [www.amazon.com]

but perhaps I would be safer with a cable listed as Thunderbolt 2.
The external drive is powered, an 8 bay RAID box from Highpoint tech. 8 12TB spinning drives.

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"he is going to start WW3!!!!"

Quote
Mr645
I fond this cable on Amazon [www.amazon.com]

but perhaps I would be safer with a cable listed as Thunderbolt 2.

Not just safer. Necessary. If you buy a $6 displayport cable, it isn't going to work and you'll just need to return it and get a proper Thunderbolt 2 cable.

"Thunderbolt 2 Compatible" when referring to DisplayPort cables simply means it will fit the TB2 port (which doubles for monitor connections). It isn't going to carry a TB signal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2022 01:50PM by Gareth.

Thanks, got it. I will order to proper cable.

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"he is going to start WW3!!!!"

Thanks all. The Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter and a proper TB 2 cable worked fine.

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"he is going to start WW3!!!!"