2014 mac mini with Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure - what adapter?

[mykidisluke]

Hello all,

I have a 2014 Mac Mini with a 1 TB Fusion drive. I also have a Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure with a very fast NVME SSD inside.

Since the Mini has a Thunderbolt 2 port which I am not using, I thought it would be a good idea to try out putting the Thunderbolt 3 enclosure on the mini and evaluate turning it into the boot/application drive as the SSD is quicker than fusion by a considerable amount.

However, I cannot figure out how I would do this. The TB3 enclosure has a normal male TB3 cable end (which would fit a TB3 computer) and the TB2 port on the mac mini is female. I cannot find an adapter anywhere between the 2. Apple sells a 50$ TB3 to TB2 adapter -but it is between a TB3 male and TB2 female port - but I need the opposite direction: TB3 female to TB2 male.

Can someone help me figure out what would make the 2 work together?

 

[chabig]

If you bought a TB3 case with an attached cable your only option might to get a Thunderbolt hub. Most cases just have female ports. What case is it?

 

[redheeler]

Apple claims the adapter is bidirectional. Assuming the enclosure has a detachable Thunderbolt 3 cable, you'd need to plug the adapter into the enclosure and use a Thunderbolt 2 cable.

 

[Synchro3]

Hello all,

I have a 2014 Mac Mini with a 1 TB Fusion drive. I also have a Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure with a very fast NVME SSD inside.

Since the Mini has a Thunderbolt 2 port which I am not using, I thought it would be a good idea to try out putting the Thunderbolt 3 enclosure on the mini and evaluate turning it into the boot/application drive as the SSD is quicker than fusion by a considerable amount.

In my experience everything connected with the Apple TB2-TB3 adapter is a challenge for booting.

If you have a TB2 Mac use TB2 cases/drives, with a TB3 Mac use a TB3 case.

Example: I have a Firmtek ThunderTek/PX TB 2 case for SATA SSD's. If I try to boot from them with my new TB 3 Mac Mini I have to disconnect and reconnect the TB2-TB3-Adapter in the right moment after start but before the drives begin to load the system. Not ideal.

 

[chrfr]

Hello all,

I have a 2014 Mac Mini with a 1 TB Fusion drive. I also have a Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure with a very fast NVME SSD inside.

Since the Mini has a Thunderbolt 2 port which I am not using, I thought it would be a good idea to try out putting the Thunderbolt 3 enclosure on the mini and evaluate turning it into the boot/application drive as the SSD is quicker than fusion by a considerable amount.

However, I cannot figure out how I would do this. The TB3 enclosure has a normal male TB3 cable end (which would fit a TB3 computer) and the TB2 port on the mac mini is female. I cannot find an adapter anywhere between the 2. Apple sells a 50$ TB3 to TB2 adapter -but it is between a TB3 male and TB2 female port - but I need the opposite direction: TB3 female to TB2 male.

Can someone help me figure out what would make the 2 work together?

You need the Apple TB2-TB3 adapter as well as a TB2 cable.

 

[saulinpa]

Are you saying the enclosure has a TB3 cable that can not be removed?

 

[mykidisluke]

Are you saying the enclosure has a TB3 cable that can not be removed?

My enclosure has a USB-C/Thunderbolt male to male cable. I can't find a solution which changes the TB3 to TB2 to plug into the 2014 Mac Mini.

 

[chrfr]

My enclosure has a USB-C/Thunderbolt male to male cable. I can't find a solution which changes the TB3 to TB2 to plug into the 2014 Mac Mini.

The cable isn't removable? What enclosure is it? Keep in mind if it's just a USB-C device, then no Thunderbolt adapter is going to work because the enclosure is just USB.

 

[saulinpa]

Normally you use a TB2 cable from the 2014 mini to the TB2<->TB3 adapter (it is bi-directional) which plugs into your USB-C/TB3 enclosure.