I've been looking everywhere online to see whether my question can be answered and I still can't seem to find an answer.
I have a mid-2010 Macbook Pro with a Mini DisplayPort and I recently was given an Apple Cinema Display Thunderbolt 2 Screen at work however I believe that it's not possible to connect the screen to my laptop with the Thunderbolt 2 cable.
Is there any way to bypass this?
I don't want/need audio or anything, I just need my screen to be projected onto the screen. Is there an adapter from Thunderbolt 2 to USB so I can connect it through the USB port or to the FireWire 800 port?
Thanks!
Best Answer
Ultimately, the Thunderbolt Display will not work with a 2010 or earlier mac.
While Thunderbolt output ports are backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort, the reverse is not true. So, if you had a 2011 or newer mac with a thunderbolt port, you could plug in an older Mini DisplayPort monitor, and it will work perfectly, but you cannot plug a newer thunderbolt monitor into an older Mini DisplayPort port.
Furthermore, the monitor cannot be connected through USB or FireWire, as they do not carry a display signal.
All that to say, I'm afraid the screen you were given at work is not going to function with your 2010 MacBook Pro.