- Feb 26, 2010
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After “upgrading” my PCs to Gen 15 and Z890 motherboards (more on this later), I noticed that they had 2 USB-C ports on the back panel. One of them was also a Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port. After looking up what this meant and discovering “Thunderbolt Sharing” as a very fast file sharing tool, I started on the adventure to use this tool and get what I needed to make it work.
I was using Microsoft SyncToy to file share between my 2 PCs via my LAN connections. Both PCs have 2.5G ethernet ports, but my ISP (Xfinity) only had 1G to my house (another story), so the router in the office is only 1G. And I need to use the 2.5G port for internet access. And 1G is plenty fast for browsing, checking e-Mails, etc. BUT 1G is not fast enough for file sharing when other options are way faster and available.
But the biggest problem is Microsoft “new” security features in Windows 11 v24H2 for “home networking.” To get what used to work before, now you have to turn off several security features in Windows to share files the way I want to.
Anyway, I started with 2 sets of cables for each PC (they are almost identical, each with an ASUS TUF Gaming Z890 Plus WiFi motherboard).
I should mention that Intel’s Thunderbolt File Sharing software states “at least 1 device in the chain needs to be thunderbolt licensed. I thought the motherboards were, since they have the lightning bolt on the back panel next to the ports. The cables are rated for TB4 but not licensed. Same as the couplers. So, I purchased (2) ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 Add-in-cards (a whole other story). Still no licensed product.
I returned the add-in-cards and gave up…for a week or so.
Then I thought maybe I needed a Thunderbolt Dock in the middle of the cable connections, so I purchased a few things, make sure I get something TB Certified:
Once I completed the link between the 2 PCs with the hub, the hub wasn’t recognized as a TB product. If I plugged the TB drive into it, the drive was still TB certified. The hub was listed in System Devices (Device Manager) as a USB4 hub, the TB drive a was listed under USB Controllers as a TB drive. I installed the Intel TB File Sharing software, and it worked, stating that the TB drive was licensed. If I unplugged the drive, File Share wouldn’t connect.
But I found that the software wasn’t customizable as Microsoft SyncToy is. It was an all-or-nothing file share/copy, unlike choosing specific folders on a drive to “sync.” I had to go back and clean up all the folders shared of all the unneeded files shared. This was very tedious!
In the end, since I do not need an external TB drive, and it would be required to get TB Sharing to work, I returned almost everything. And this was pricey (Over $600!). I kept the Silkland USB3/USB4 cables, to use for flash drives or future iPhones or what not.
After intense research of my ISP options (Fiber or Cable for streaming, TV, AND file sharing), I went this direction, which was only over $100 for all:
My question now is: Do I still need to turn off all the security features in Windows for this method of file sharing. I think the answer is “YES,” as I cannot separate which ethernet connection I want these features turned off. I do have some security features on to limit access to my PCs from outside my network but unsure if they are enough.
If anyone wants to know specifics, or anyone has further knowledge about Windows Security options for build 24H2, please reply.
I was using Microsoft SyncToy to file share between my 2 PCs via my LAN connections. Both PCs have 2.5G ethernet ports, but my ISP (Xfinity) only had 1G to my house (another story), so the router in the office is only 1G. And I need to use the 2.5G port for internet access. And 1G is plenty fast for browsing, checking e-Mails, etc. BUT 1G is not fast enough for file sharing when other options are way faster and available.
But the biggest problem is Microsoft “new” security features in Windows 11 v24H2 for “home networking.” To get what used to work before, now you have to turn off several security features in Windows to share files the way I want to.
Anyway, I started with 2 sets of cables for each PC (they are almost identical, each with an ASUS TUF Gaming Z890 Plus WiFi motherboard).
- Silkland USB-C 20 Gbps, 240W capable cable, 10 FT.
- Silkland USB4 40 Gbps, 240W capable cable, 10 FT.
- USB-C Coupler rated at 40 Gbps/240W
- (because the longed USB4 cables are 10’, and I needed 20’)
I should mention that Intel’s Thunderbolt File Sharing software states “at least 1 device in the chain needs to be thunderbolt licensed. I thought the motherboards were, since they have the lightning bolt on the back panel next to the ports. The cables are rated for TB4 but not licensed. Same as the couplers. So, I purchased (2) ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 Add-in-cards (a whole other story). Still no licensed product.
I returned the add-in-cards and gave up…for a week or so.
Then I thought maybe I needed a Thunderbolt Dock in the middle of the cable connections, so I purchased a few things, make sure I get something TB Certified:
- (2) Apple certified 10’ Thunderbolt cables ($159 each!)
- A OWC Thunderbolt hub to put between the cables linking the PCs.
- A Thunderbolt drive (Sabrent 1TB Rocket Nano XTRM External SSD, USB3/TB3)
Once I completed the link between the 2 PCs with the hub, the hub wasn’t recognized as a TB product. If I plugged the TB drive into it, the drive was still TB certified. The hub was listed in System Devices (Device Manager) as a USB4 hub, the TB drive a was listed under USB Controllers as a TB drive. I installed the Intel TB File Sharing software, and it worked, stating that the TB drive was licensed. If I unplugged the drive, File Share wouldn’t connect.
But I found that the software wasn’t customizable as Microsoft SyncToy is. It was an all-or-nothing file share/copy, unlike choosing specific folders on a drive to “sync.” I had to go back and clean up all the folders shared of all the unneeded files shared. This was very tedious!
In the end, since I do not need an external TB drive, and it would be required to get TB Sharing to work, I returned almost everything. And this was pricey (Over $600!). I kept the Silkland USB3/USB4 cables, to use for flash drives or future iPhones or what not.
After intense research of my ISP options (Fiber or Cable for streaming, TV, AND file sharing), I went this direction, which was only over $100 for all:
- (2) 10Gb NIC Dual RJ45 Port PCIe Network cards.
- (2) 25’ Cat8 Ethernet Cables
- (2) Ethernet Crossover Adapters
My question now is: Do I still need to turn off all the security features in Windows for this method of file sharing. I think the answer is “YES,” as I cannot separate which ethernet connection I want these features turned off. I do have some security features on to limit access to my PCs from outside my network but unsure if they are enough.
If anyone wants to know specifics, or anyone has further knowledge about Windows Security options for build 24H2, please reply.
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