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jkharness87
5 Posts
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March 5th, 2016 10:00
TB15 Dock Support on Linux?
I asked this question in the hardware forum but was asked to post this in this forum (apologies for the cross post).
The TB15 doesn't seem to work on linux (precision 5510) - it freezes the laptop. Based on the spec sheet, I bought the dock thinking it would work with my linux system. Do you have instructions for getting it to work with linux? I'm currently running a 4.4 kernel on a fedora based install on my precision 5510. Love the laptop but might need to send the dock back if I can't get it working.
Also, I'm confused about the USB type c support. A post in another forum indicated that support is forthcoming. However, I am currently able to use my usb-c to ethernet dongle that came with the latptop (on Fedora 23) which makes me think my type c port is working. Am I waiting on type c support AND TB15 hardware drivers on linux before things will work -- or am I just waiting on the TB15 hardware drivers? Any clarification about exactly what I should be looking for to get the dock working would be appreciated. Thanks!
jkharness87
5 Posts
536
0
Posted March 14th, 2016 18:00
Thanks for the answer - that clears up what I'm waiting for a lot. Sure wish we had a rough idea as to timing...
quicksketch
11 Posts
536
0
Posted March 11th, 2016 12:00
I posted a similar question over in the project Sputnik forum with some research I've done, you can read about my experience over there.
USB with the type-C connector already works on Linux. As you've noted, the USB-C to Ethernet adapter works, as does the VGA adapter. One of the problems is that the dock is not USB. It's Thunderbolt (a different protocol) that happens to use the type-C connector. Right now we are waiting on several things: Thunderbolt support in the Linux kernel (which is coming from Intel) and then Linux drivers for the individual ports within the dock itself.
Right now Linux can't even see the dock at all, because it doesn't have Thunderbolt support in the first place. Some of the very latest kernels (4.4.5 as of this writing) may support something, but I haven't been able to get my kernel past 4.3.3 without boot issues.