Understanding USB-C and Thunderbolt: Troubleshooting Potential Failures

As technology continues to advance, many users are integrating USB-C and Thunderbolt into their everyday devices. However, when something goes wrong, the complexities can sometimes lead to confusion. Recently, I encountered an issue while using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable with my Eluktronics Max17 laptop, which boasts an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card. My laptop is running on Windows 10, and unfortunately, I’ve had some trouble with my second display.

The Problem

One day, the connection to the external monitor simply ceased functioning. Interestingly, the USB-C port still performs well with other devices, such as when I connect my Android phone for file transfers. Additionally, I’ve been able to connect a different computer to the DisplayPort input of the monitor without issue. To rule out the possibility of a faulty cable, I tested both the original USB-C to DisplayPort cable and a newly purchased one with another monitor, yet they both failed to establish a connection.

Exploring the Issue Further

In an effort to resolve the problem, I first suspected that the cable might have malfunctioned. However, given how sudden the failure was, I found this hard to believe. Since I have the Enterprise version of Windows 10, I was able to disable automatic updates. At that time, I was still operating on the 21H2 version and hadn’t installed any new Software that could have contributed to the issue.

To troubleshoot further, I manually initiated a Windows Update and updated my NVIDIA drivers to the latest version—upgrading my system to the 22H2 build and the driver version 535.*. Despite these adjustments, the connection issue persisted.

Potential Causes of the Failure

At this juncture, I’m left wondering if perhaps a specific component of the circuitry responsible for transmitting video over USB-C has failed while still allowing other functionalities of the port to operate normally. Is this a possibility? It’s a plausible explanation, given that USB-C supports various protocols, and a malfunction in the video output capabilities doesn’t necessarily impact other features.

Conclusion

As I continue to dig for solutions, I’d appreciate any insights from fellow tech enthusiasts or professionals who may have experienced a similar situation. Understanding the interplay between different technologies like USB-C and Thunderbolt can be quite challenging, and any advice on how to further troubleshoot or possible repairs would be immensely valuable.