XPS15 9550 - Thunderbolt Controller Driver install fails

Question

On Aug31, 2018 I was prompted by Dell Support Assist that I needed to install a new Thunderbolt driver via a notification that popped up in the bottom right corner in Windows 10. Installing stuff when prompted has worked well for the most part so I let it install its driver. I use my computer connected to a first generation Dell Thunderbolt Dock (250W), think the model is TB15, but I am not 100% sure of that. During the installation keyboard, mouse, physical network and headphones got disconnected which I accept as normal as those are connected via the dock and as far as I know is run through thunderbolt in some way. The two displays I use via the dock still worked through the installation though. Anyway, the installation seemed to complete without errors, at least no errors was shown in the notification window. My peripherals did however not come back. I restarted the computer even though I was not prompted that was needed 'just in case' there was some initialization problem, but nothing apart from the displays connected to the dock worked. I opened up the Dell Support Assist application and there I saw that there still was an urgent Intel Thunderbolt Controller Driver update to install - version 17.4.77.400. I tried to install it from there, but after a short while it showed in the status column that it had 'Failed'. I have repeated this installation numerous times during the week after the initial problem occurred, but nothing has changed - it still get status 'Failed' in Dell Support Assist if I do it there and the notification for a new Thunderbolt Driver pops up every time I start my computer. I have worked with my peripherals connected to the computer instead of the dock, but today I did a little more research and thought I could try a manual installation of an earlier version of the driver just to see if I could shake it back in working order. I downloaded the latest driver version I saw in the 'Older versions' list for the Intel Thunderbolt Controller Driver on the Dell support page for XPS 15 9550 - that was version 16.3.61.275,A03 which had a release date of 20 Jul 2017. I ran that installer manually, but that also failed. In the installation window there was a link to the installation log and the thing that stood out most to me in that was the section where the 'tbt81x.inf' driver install returned error code 1603. See complete log here.  As this manual driver installation also failed I tried one more thing - manual install of the latest driver version. I downloaded the installer for Intel Thunderbolt Controller Driver v17.4.77.400 from the Dell support site and executed that. It also failed with a very similar looking log file that you can see here. Can you provide any recommendations on how I should proceed to get my dock back in working order? I hope the solution is not to a complete reinstall/factory reset of Windows, but something that would not not cause so much collacteral damage to my current setup. Regards, Erik

sweMan · Accepted Answer

After resinstalling Windows due to other reasons everything has worked fine. However, when allowing Dell Update to install drivers it messed up the Thunderbolt functionality and made the dock unusable again.

Symptoms:

Internet via cable through dock no longer working
USB peripherals connected via dock no longer detected
Dell Support assist show 0 as version information for Thunderbolt Controller and Thunderbolt Software

Basically same problem as before.

This time I tried a solution based on a post from @Ben1704 (with some tweaks as that was for a 9570 model and another dock) and got Thunderbolt back in working order again.

Steps:

Download chipset driver from the Dell support page for 9550
https://www.dell.com/support/home/sv-se/product-support/product/xps-15-9550-laptop/drivers
Chipset_Driver_DJT82_WN32_1932.12.0.1298_A04.EXE
Disconnect dock
In Device Manager, uninstall Thunderbolt Controller found in System Devices. Check the box for deleting driver software.
From admin command prompt run the command “sc delete nhi”
(Note: system response DeleteService SUCCESS)
Open control panel and uninstall the program Thunderbolt Software
Restart
Install chipset driver downloaded earlier in step 1
Connect the dock
Wait for a bit until prompted that new Thunderbolt device has been detected
I choose "Always connect" for both cable and dock
Wait for a bit again until installation has completed
I got an error message that a file could not be found, but at this point the physical network had already started to work so I was happy enough.

Anyway, it is nice to finally have a solution to the problem if it pop up again. I will be more careful with just accepting Dell Update prompts in the future.

jock7 · Answer

I have the exact same problem and my system is the same except my dock is the TB16. I have also tried all the same solutions to no avail. I get the same notification to update this driver every day. Any ideas out there?

EngiNerd_TX · Answer

I had the same issue on my 9570 and here is my solution:

Plug computer into dock.
Type "Thunderbolt" into the search bar on Windows 11.
Open Thunderbolt Control Center.
You should see the dock listed and at the bottom says "Disconnected".
Click the word "Disconnected"
Set dock to "Always Connect"
Confirm dock now shows "Connected"
Job done.

This immediately fixed this issue of my computer not connecting to the dock. All ports immediately showed up in Device Manager, ethernet port began communicating and a quick test with a USB drive confirmed dock is communicating.

XPS

Was this post helpful?