Updated procedure for Linux Mint 22 and eGPU running Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB

Thunderbolt (TB3/TB4) is explicitly designed for hot-plugging.

It uses :

• Hot-plug–safe PCIe tunneling
• Overcurrent protection
• Digital handshaking before enabling high-power lanes
• Cable and device negotiation before link-up
• Mandatory protective circuitry required by Intel’s TB certification

You are supposed to plug and unplug TB devices while the system is powered — that’s how eGPUs, docks, displays, and drives are meant to work.

There is no scenario in which hot-plugging a functioning Thunderbolt cable damages the hardware.

- Power on laptop normally
- Log into desktop
- Turn ON the eGPU enclosure
- Wait 2–3 seconds (GPU initializes)
- Plug in the Thunderbolt cable
- Wait for the OS to detect/authorize the eGPU

- Close any apps using the eGPU (optional but safer)
- Save your work
- Unplug the Thunderbolt cable
- Wait 2–3 seconds
- Power OFF the eGPU enclosure if desired