SOLVED Mac Mini 2018 to VGA Monitor

[Jez]

Hello,

I just bought a refurbished Mac Mini 2018 and see that the Thunderbolt ports are not compatible with my VGA-Thunderbolt adapter which I've been using with my Macbook Pro 2012 and Mac Mini 2014. The ports on the Mac Mini 2018 are too narrow in depth.​

As I need to keep my VGA monitor, can anyone recommend a VGA-Thunderbolt or other adapter I can use with this Mac Mini 2018?​

Thanks for any help, always appreciated

 

[TonyAguila]

Hello,

I just bought a refurbished Mac Mini 2018 and see that the Thunderbolt ports are not compatible with my VGA-Thunderbolt adapter which I've been using with my Macbook Pro 2012 and Mac Mini 2014. The ports on the Mac Mini 2018 are too narrow in depth.​

As I need to keep my VGA monitor, can anyone recommend a VGA-Thunderbolt or other adapter I can use with this Mac Mini 2018?​

Thanks for any help, always appreciated

If I remember correctly I used an HDMI to VGA adapter on mine, and a Thunderbolt to Display Port cable for the second monitor. My 2018 Mac mini had dual 32" monitors.

 

[Jez]

Thanks! My monitor is VGA only so it doesn't have a Display Port as far as I know. I've been told that a USB-C to VGA adapter would also work, as some people have had problems with the HDMI to VGA adapters...

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks! My monitor is VGA only so it doesn't have a Display Port as far as I know. I've been told that a USB-C to VGA adapter would also work, as some people have had problems with the HDMI to VGA adapters...

Sure, as long as you can spare one of the TB-3 ports, it should work. When I had my 2018 mini, I could not give up even one Thunderbolt port. I had two TB-3 external 4-drive cases and one for the first monitor, thus needing the HDMI for the second display. That’s why the Studio Max with Thunderbolt 4 was a godsend, although I probably should have ordered the Studio Ultra because I’m running low on Thunderbolt 4 ports already.

 

[Jez]

Thanks for your help. I bought a USB-C to VGA adaptor and it works fine - so, now using my newly acquired Mac mini 2018.

I have another question, if you have time.

What's the best way to connect Macbook Pro 2012 to Mac mini 2018? I want to be able to access the Macbook Pro from my Mac mini and use it as an external drive.

Any help always appreciated.

Jez

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks for your help. I bought a USB-C to VGA adaptor and it works fine - so, now using my newly acquired Mac mini 2018.

I have another question, if you have time.

What's the best way to connect Macbook Pro 2012 to Mac mini 2018? I want to be able to access the Macbook Pro from my Mac mini and use it as an external drive.

Any help always appreciated.

Jez

That would be an expensive external drive, and the 2018 Mac mini is a nice machine on its own. You could set up file sharing—set up the mini for file sharing and the MacBook Pro will be able to see it or any “shared” volume or folder over the network. But you can now get affordable external drives that are much faster than files over network sharing. USB/SATA drives are plenty cheap, or you can go with an NVMe drive in an external USB-C enclosure. Depending on the drive you choose, it could come close to the speeds you are getting with your internal SSD. A 2-terabyte external SATA drive can be had for less than $100. My 4-terabyte NVMe external SSD, on the other hand, cost me around $400—but worth every penny. Actually two of them.

 

[MacsBug]

To do what you want, you would need a ThunderBolt 2 cable, a ThunderBolt 2 to ThunderBolt 3 adaptor. Unless you have these laying around, buying an external SSD would not just be easier, but cheaper than buying the cable and adaptor.

As Tony has stated, external drives and SSD's are extremely cheap these days.

 

[Jez]

Thanks TonyAgulia and MacsBug for your responses.

As you can probably tell, I'm a novice at all this. When I said use the Macbook pro as an external drive, I meant: I'd like to simply connect the Macbook Pro 2012 to the Mac mini 2018 so I can transfer files from one to the other.

I've heard about a USB-C bridge cable but am not sure if it will work.

I looked online and found this ThunderBolt 2 to ThunderBolt 3 adaptor - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/111753

Will this work?

Thanks.

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks TonyAgulia and MacsBug for your responses.

As you can probably tell, I'm a novice at all this. When I said use the Macbook pro as an external drive, I meant: I'd like to simply connect the Macbook Pro 2012 to the Mac mini 2018 so I can transfer files from one to the other.

I've heard about a USB-C bridge cable but am not sure if it will work.

I looked online and found this ThunderBolt 2 to ThunderBolt 3 adaptor - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/111753

Will this work?

Thanks.

If that’s all you need, file transfers, try File Sharing and see how it works for you. You do this over the home network. No hard wires needed. The host (shared) volume or folder will mount on your desktop like any other folder on your local Mac.

 

[MacsBug]

You will need that adaptor plus a Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Start your MacBook Pro while holding down the T key. You will see a thunderbolt icon on the screen. At that point connect the MacBook Pro to the mini using the cable and adaptor. The Hard Drive from the MacBook Pro will mount on the mini's Desktop.