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Thunderbolt -> Ethernet Adapter

M

matticusk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
11
1
Hi all,

Anyone purchased the new Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter got it to work under Windows 7? I have the Thunderbolt update installed under Lion and the adapter works there fine, computer is the 2011 MBA.

EDIT: I should add that it comes up as an 'Ethernet Controller' in Device Manager and no drivers found.
 
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B

bcc9

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2012
21
13
Yes, I got it to work under windows.
It doesn't just work out of the box, but you can go to Broadcom's web page and download the driver.

Google "broadcom driver windows netxtreme"
Select the nextreme I Desktop/Mobile driver
Install via device manager (select location where you unzipped driver)
Note, the PCI ID for this device 14e4:1682 is not listed in Broadcom's web page list of supported IDs. However the driver's .inf does include the requisite matching for the new device ID.
 
ilkevinli

ilkevinli

macrumors 6502
Apr 8, 2006
302
28
NYC
Thanks a lot for posting this !


bcc9 said:
Yes, I got it to work under windows.
It doesn't just work out of the box, but you can go to Broadcom's web page and download the driver.

Google "broadcom driver windows netxtreme"
Select the nextreme I Desktop/Mobile driver
Install via device manager (select location where you unzipped driver)
Note, the PCI ID for this device 14e4:1682 is not listed in Broadcom's web page list of supported IDs. However the driver's .inf does include the requisite matching for the new device ID.
Click to expand...
 
B

bcc9

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2012
21
13
Thanks. It's amazing that apple released this product with no plug-and-play drivers or instructions on how to install the drivers. apple's product page for this has a FAQ claiming that it doesn't work under bootcamp! I guess how to install the broadcom driver will be our little secret.

To top it off, the OSX driver release is a fiasco too. (driver update pulled, yet to be replaced, and crashing non-thunderbolt systems), Shame on apple.
 
drsox

drsox

macrumors 68000
Apr 29, 2011
1,706
201
Xhystos
This is a great posting ! Works fine for me. Now I can get over 100MBps from my MBA 13in 2011.
 
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M

Maattiio

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2012
3
0
Did anyone manage to grab a copy of the Thudnerbolt 1.2 update while it was still up? My new adapter is pretty useless without it.

I'm going travelling in 2 days and need ethernet on my 2011 MBA. I can't believe Apple is continuing to sell an accessory that currently has no support - surely with its resources it can code a patch within 24 hours, not weeks...
 
drsox

drsox

macrumors 68000
Apr 29, 2011
1,706
201
Xhystos
Maattiio said:
Did anyone manage to grab a copy of the Thudnerbolt 1.2 update while it was still up? My new adapter is pretty useless without it.

I'm going travelling in 2 days and need ethernet on my 2011 MBA. I can't believe Apple is continuing to sell an accessory that currently has no support - surely with its resources it can code a patch within 24 hours, not weeks...
Click to expand...

Suggest you post in the Peripherals section, more likely to get an answer.
 
B

bcc9

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2012
21
13
Maattiio said:
Did anyone manage to grab a copy of the Thudnerbolt 1.2 update while it was still up? My new adapter is pretty useless without it.
Click to expand...
I grabbed a copy of the dmg from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1544 before it was pulled. It's outrageous that apple has left this pulled without any recourse for thunderbolt users.
I think it's not OK with apple's licenses to publicly redistribute, but I could probably help via PM.
All the DMG does is install a new version of /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleBCM5701Ethernet.kext
 
M

Maattiio

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2012
3
0
bcc9 said:
I grabbed a copy of the dmg from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1544 before it was pulled. It's outrageous that apple has left this pulled without any recourse for thunderbolt users.
I think it's not OK with apple's licenses to publicly redistribute, but I could probably help via PM.
All the DMG does is install a new version of /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleBCM5701Ethernet.kext
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how to PM on here - but that would be a great help bcc9!
I leave for Europe tomorrow, I'd appreciate your help asap :)
 
B

bcc9

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2012
21
13
I would recommend backing up your /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext kext or at least the broadcom kext plugin directory mentioned above, to some local directory. Then if you have any crashing problems you can restore the directory from single user mode to recover.

Edit: New version (1.2.1) up at apple's web page:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1544

The .pkg contains the identical .kext, so I believe the change is just to prevent the install on non-thunderbolt machines.
 
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M

Maattiio

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2012
3
0
Got it! Thanks so much - you saved me another trip to the Apple store to get the USB version.
 
B

bcc9

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2012
21
13
Maattiio said:
Got it! Thanks so much - you saved me another trip to the Apple store to get the USB version.
Click to expand...
Great.
Nobody should buy Apple's USB->fast ethernet dongle, there are USB->gigabit ethernet dongles that perform better and are at least as cheap. The usb->gige dongle I used until now would get me about 300Mbps (bandwidth was limited by the USB2 port). For reference, I get just under 900Mbps with the new thunderbolt dongle.
 
V

ViennaAustria

macrumors newbie
Jun 21, 2012
2
0
bcc9 said:
Yes, I got it to work under windows.
It doesn't just work out of the box, but you can go to Broadcom's web page and download the driver.
Click to expand...

Did somebody maybe have a VIB file for VMware ESXi too?

The latest Broadcom driver net-tg3-3.120h.v50.2-1OEM.500.0.0.472560.x86_64.vib works with every Mac including MacMini [Server], but not with the new Thunderbolt GbE. I managed to look into it's ID map and found that 14e4:1682 is missing. Probably one just need to add it. But I have not enough knowledge to rebuild the VIB file with the PCI ID added.
 
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