I'm relatively new to the Thunderbolt docking station world, so I appreciate your patience.
I have a Dell Thunderbolt TB16 docking station connected an old Dell monitor via a VGA to DisplayPort cable. A Dell Latitude work laptop running Windows 10 displays great when it's connected through the Thunderbolt charging cable on the docking station. I have a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I am now wondering why I didn't look into a docking station earlier.
I have a second personal laptop, an Acer E15 series also running Windows 10, and I would like to use the same wireless mouse and keyboard I have set up through the docking station when the Dell Latitude is not plugged in. The Acer doesn't have a Thunderbolt port, so I thought I would try hooking it up to the docking station through the HDMI port instead, expecting that it could talk to the monitor through the docking station.
No dice. Tried the Fn-F5 and Fn-F6 key combinations (the F keys that have the monitors display icons) and while the laptop registers the different display and casting options available, I can't get the laptop screen to display.
Questions:
What am I missing? Or is what I'm trying to do impossible?
If it is possible to do, would I be able to set up the Acer as a second monitor through HDMI when the Latitude is hooked up through the Thunderbolt dock cable?