MST30C2HHPD dock has network and display issues.

Hi Group,

I supplied a dual HDMI MST30C2HHPD dock to a customer using a HP Probook 650 Gen 8 and they are using 2 x 24" HDMI displays as well as the Laptop display.

They report problems of a LAN based data base “locking” and having network delays. Also the external displays often end up with 1 or more random black black squares around 2 cm. They have to shut every thing off to make them, go away.

In the even viewer I get 2 recurring errors:

  1. huge numbers of : Event ID 27 - e1dexpress - ethernet connection - network link disconnected.

  2. no so many : Event ID 196 - USB-USBHUB3 - Surprise removal, USB Device draining system power when Idle

I have noted that they have changed the stock 1m USB C cable with a longer 2m generic USB cable. Is there a chance that could be causing issues?

Also Noted an issue when the user was running ZOOM, it was chrasing the internet connection. This was resolved by bypassing the dock with the LAN Cable and plugging direct into the Laptop LAN port,

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello @KiwiTech We appreciate you taking the time to post on our Community forum. We are sorry to hear that you experienced difficulty with our MST30C2HHPD. We recommend ensuring that all updates on the computer are complete especially the onboard graphics card. Furthermore, I would recommend installing the latest Ethernet drivers for the MST30C2HHPD found here.

I do want to thank you for your time and patience for help troubleshooting this device. We look forward to hearing from you!

Atha T

Hello @KiwiTech I noticed I haven’t heard anything back from you in a little while, I just wanted to check in to see if you had a chance to read our post above.

In the meantime, the MST30C2HHPD includes a 1m StarTech.com USB-C to USB-C cable. Would it be possible to try the included USB-C cable with the docking station to see if the issue continues?

We look forward to your response!

Atha T.

Hi Atha, sorry for the slow response.

Unfortunately, user discarded 1m cable and replaced it with a longer after market (Technus) cable. I suspect this may be the issue.

I have purchased a 2m Startech certified cable, product code USB315CC2m. Do you think this cable will be OK with the dock?

Hi @KiwiTech

Thank you for your response.

We do not foresee any issues using the MST30C2HHPD with our USB315CC2M. Please let us know if you are still encountering any issues.

Atha T

Thanks Atha, I’ll return to customer and see how it goes and let you know if I have anymore trouble.

Hello @KiwiTech

I noticed I haven’t heard anything back from you in a little while, I just wanted to follow up and see if you had a chance to test the MST30C2HHPD with our USB315CC2M.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Atha T

HI Atha, I was abler to get to customer’s site yesterday. Got every thing hooked up and tested.

With the MST30C2HHPD every thing worked OK, Updated all drivers and BIOS including the Ethernet drivers for the MST30C2HHPD.

All was running well until rebooting. Just after login, with the dock connected, I get a BSOD,

The error stop code is SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION - What failed: igdkmdn64.sys (graphics Drive Obviously).

If I unplug the dock at startup, wait for the computer to finish booting and after log-in the dock can be plugged in and is fine.

Any Ideas?

Hello @KiwiTech

Thank you for your response.

Can you please confirm if the MST30C2HHPD was operating correctly prior to updating the drivers and BIOS? Furthermore, did the USB315CC2M resolve the issues you were experiencing earlier?

The issue seems to be isolated to the computer’s GPU. The video ports on the MST30C2HHPD utilizes the computer’s GPU to operate correctly. We recommend installing the latest GPU drivers from HP’s website as well as utilizing the USB315CC2M. If the issue continues, it may be worth reaching out to HP for further support as well as trying a previous GPU driver version.

We look forward to your response!

Atha T.

Hi Atha, sorry about the delay in getting back. The user has been away sick and had his laptop at home. He’s back in the office now tho and I have been back to site today and report as follows.

The laptop has the latest GPU drivers and works fine if the laptop is not connected to the dock - even with an external HDMI display plugged into the laptop’s built in Jack.

When I last contacted, the dock would work but only of we booted the laptop first then connected. Thats changed and now its not working at all - when ever its plugged in, we get the Blue screen.

I tried a new Startech Dock, a TB3DK2DHV - this is a Thunderbolt 3 dock. The HP Probook 650 g8 has a TB 3 USB 3 jack. When plugging this in, it didnt work at all (aside from Charging and Ethernet). Does that mean its not compatible with the Probook?

Tested Both Docks with a brand new Probook 455 Gen 9, works fine with the MST30C2HHPD - but not the TB3DK2DHV. More compatibility issues?

Anyway, the MST30C2HHPD seems OK on the new Probook so I assume there is no issues with it.

Can you confirm that the TB3DK2DHV is NOT compatible with any HP Probooks either way?

Hello @KiwiTech

Thank you for your response and persistence troubleshooting this device.

Since the MST30C2HHPD appears to be functional with the HP Probook 455 Gen 9, it appears there may be an unforeseen incompatibility issue with the HP Probook 650 Gen 8. It may be worth looking into an alternative docking station such as our DK30C2DPEP. The primary difference is the the DK30C2DPEP utilizes DisplayLink technology to output displays.

Furthermore, the TB3DK2DHV is a ThunderBolt 3 dock and requires the host to be equipped with a ThunderBolt 3 port. Sadly, the HP Probook 455 Gen 9 and the HP Probook 650 G8 are only USB-C capable. I would recommend taking a look here which highlights the difference between USB-C & ThunderBolt 3.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with!

Atha T

Thanks Atha, having spent around $700 in Startech docs for this one job, not being compatible with very limited stick in NZ, Im going to try and get one from HP.

Thanks for trying.

Hello @KiwiTech

Thank you for your time and patience for troubleshooting this device. We do apologize that the MST30C2HHPD did not work in this particular setup. If there is anything we can assist you with in the meantime, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Atha T

HI there,

After updating drivers on the laptop and installing the Ethernet drivers as suggested above, replacing power lead - dock to laptop connection was stable but the user was not disconnecting the laptop.

Now that the user has started taking the laptop home, when reconnecting the dock - the laptop screen flashes and there the other screens are unusable. I have had HP check the Laptop and they say there is nothing wrong with it. This has been very time consuming and embarrassing for an important customer.

Hello @KiwiTech

I hope you are doing well, and thank you for your response.

As mentioned earlier, since the MST30C2HHPD appears to be functional with the HP Probook 455 Gen 9, it appears there may be an unforeseen incompatibility issue with the HP Probook 650 Gen 8. Unfortunately, you may have to look into alternative docking station, perhaps a dock which uses DisplayLink technology such as our DK30C2DPEP.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.

Atha T