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ASUS ThunderboltEX II PCIe Expansion Card - Testing Thread

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Can not work on my ASUS Z97-A

My device:
ASUS ThunderboltEX II
Seagate GoFlex Adapter Thunderbolt (connect a SSD on it)

My step:
1. Install Windows driver on Windows 8.1
2. Shutdown, remove Windows 8.1 HDD
3. Booting from OS X HDD
4. The SSD is not showing up

Can everyone help me?
 
^ Make sure the drive is recognized in Windowss first... once this occurs it should be able towork fine in OS X..
 
Does hot-pluggin work with these? I can't hot-plug with my Maximus V Extreme. Did they change that with TB2 and newer motherboards?
 
^ Make sure the drive is recognized in Windowss first... once this occurs it should be able towork fine in OS X..

I have ThunderboltEX II-Dual & trying to get it to work with X99-Deluxe which has the proper mobo header.

Per UG instructions, I install drivers (latest downloaded from ASUS), then shut down& install card. Upon POST, I go into BIOS and there is a new entry for Thunderbolt!

I haven't seen any instructions in this thread for any changes to settings, so I exit and boot into Windows. I don't think it's working because there is no entry in Windows Device Manager for the TB card or services.

How do you know it's active in windows without plugging something in?
 
I have ThunderboltEX II-Dual & trying to get it to work with X99-Deluxe which has the proper mobo header.

Per UG instructions, I install drivers (latest downloaded from ASUS), then shut down& install card. Upon POST, I go into BIOS and there is a new entry for Thunderbolt!

I haven't seen any instructions in this thread for any changes to settings, so I exit and boot into Windows. I don't think it's working because there is no entry in Windows Device Manager for the TV card or services.

How do you know it's active in windows without plugging something in?


The only way I found out if TB capability was working in Windows was to plug ina a device, such as an Apple TB-Firewire adapter.. I beleive a TB-equipped device needs to be plugged in before TB capabilty is unlocked.

BTW, congrats on the X99 build - as I am an audio guy myself!

Did you make a thread detailing your build yet? I definitely would like to study up, as I have a good friend who is interested in having me put together one for him.

Either way, I will be looking forward to hearing of your progress!
 
BTW, congrats on the X99 build - as I am an audio guy myself!

Did you make a thread detailing your build yet? I definitely would like to study up, as I have a good friend who is interested in having me put together one for him.

Either way, I will be looking forward to hearing of your progress!

Thanks man - I will be starting a new build thread in a week or so, once I have a few more things ironed out. Still want to see if there's anything I can do re: power management & speed step. But I finally got my TB card working!! More on that in my next post...
 
So thanks to a tip from user samtimbaud whom I met over in the X99 build threads for both 10.9.5 and 10.10.0, I was able to get my ThunderboltEX II-Dual card working this afternoon.

Here is a very detailed description of the installation process that I took, and the "activation" of the card in Windows, including screen shots, and success (or lack thereof).

According to the ASUS Web site, as well as recommendations here, you are supposed to plug the TB card into the PCIe slot furthest away from the CPU (last slot on the board). While this might work on 8-series and Socket 1150 9-series boards, on the X99-Deluxe (socket 2011), this did not work for me. What DID work was plugging the card into the PCIEX4_1 slot (the "little" PCIe slot). BTW, for the initial Windows-based phase of the card activation, I didn't change any of the BIOS settings in the new Advanced > Thunderbolt menu.

The minute I rebooted & connected my first TB device in Windows 8, I heard a little "chime" and an alert message popped up telling me a new device had been connected, giving me the option to "approve" or "reject" the connection of the new device:
TB Ethernet.PNG

Once a device is connected, you can now go into the TB software panel's option to view any/all connected devices:
TB All.PNG

Also, now I can get into the software panel's "Settings" option, too:
TB4.PNG

Finally, the Thunderbolt card is also now visible in the Windows Device Manager:
tB5.PNG

BTW, both the ThunderboltEX II and ThunderboltEX II-Dual cards are working by plugging into the PCIEX4_1 slot. Again, note that this might be different on the socket 1150 boards, but for those of you having troubles getting the card to work on one of the new X99 boards, give this method a try.

Having said all that, maybe someone who is more proficient in the inter-workings of the UEFI BIOS could answer this: Is there a way to "force" the recommended slot (in the case of X99 boards - the PCIEX16_5 slot) into whatever mode/bandwidth/PCIe generation, etc. as the PCIEX4_1 slot?

But for now, I'm super-excited that it's working in Windows. Samtimbaud is the one who suggested that I try this PCIe slot, so big kudos to him. And also for tracking down and sharing the BIOS settings that need to be "tweaked" in order for TB to work properly in OSX.

Last step of course, is to now boot into your working OSX. But before you do that, you must go back into the Bios > Advanced > Thunderbolt and change 2 settings:
--Security Level: change to Legacy Only
--Thunderbolt PCIe Cache-line Size: set to 128

Once you have those options, exit & save your changes, then continue booting into OSX. You should now have working Thunderbolt!
TB system report.png

Depending on the device, you MAY be able to hot-swap disconnect: I just ejected my FW400 hard drive, then disconnected the TB/FW adapter. No lock-up. But hot-swap connecting my Seagate GoFlex TB drive yielded no results (well, at least it didn't lock up...but it also didn't detect & mount the drive). I had to power down, reconnect the drive, then power on. The Seagate TB drive now appears on desktop.

Hope this info helps everyone! Cheers!
--B
 
Hi guys , Any one testing or a clue about z77 motherboard ? I have Maximus V Formula
I just buy this card and I try to figure out how to make it working,
All I got testing : power up an external hdd with a FW800 case into an apple thunderbolt adaptorMD463.jpeg
but not show in windows at all . Other think is an Apple LED Display 27inch works with display cable into thunderbolt card. Also I have a Drobo 5D with thunderbolt port , but I cand see in windows, Dashboard drobo software cant find it.
There is a picture with what I found in bios :
IMG_0020.JPG
Any help with this ? I will appreciate
 
Hi guys , Any one testing or a clue about z77 motherboard ? I have Maximus V Formula
I just buy this card and I try to figure out how to make it working,
All I got testing : power up an external hdd with a FW800 case into an apple thunderbolt adaptorView attachment 112438
but not show in windows at all . Other think is an Apple LED Display 27inch works with display cable into thunderbolt card. Also I have a Drobo 5D with thunderbolt port , but I cand see in windows, Dashboard drobo software cant find it.
There is a picture with what I found in bios :
View attachment 112439
Any help with this ? I will appreciate

Did you check to make sure that your motherboard is compatible with the ThunderboltEX II/II-Dual cards?

Based on the quick Google search that I did, the answer looks to be NO... your motherboard must have the ASUS Thunderbolt header on the motherboard. it's not just a matter of buying the card, slapping it in, and expecting it to work.

Check HERE for compatibility...
 
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