The Problem
I recently rebuild my trusty Lenovo X1 Carbon laptop. As you usually find, a fresh install of Windows 11 meant a leap in performance.
All was good for a couple of weeks, until I started to get problems with my Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Dock stopped. It stop working properly. It still was working to supply power and the HDMI connection to my external monitor worked, but the USB devices could not be seen.
I also checked with the Lenovo Dock Manager, and it could not see the dock.
The Solution
I am not sure why it happened, but the fix was
- Open Device Manager: Press the Windows key + X and select “Device Manager”.
- Show Hidden Devices: Click “View” in the menu bar and select “Show hidden devices”.
- Locate Thunderbolt Controller: Expand “System Devices” and find the “Thunderbolt Controller” entry.
- Uninstall: Right-click on “Thunderbolt Controller” and select “Uninstall device”. In the “Uninstall Device” window, check the box that says “Delete the driver software for this device”.
Once this was done I disconnected the dock and reconnected it, and this dialog appeared
I had to approve access to the dock.
My guess is that somehow this access control setting had got set in the wrong state. I have no idea how, as I was never shown this dialog after the Windows reinstall, but at least it is fixed now