Daisy-Chaining a DVI Monitor on a Thunderbolt Display?

Solution 1:

I would just like to chime in here and note that it is possible to get that DVI display to daisy-chain, but the caveat is that you have to put another Thunderbolt device in between the Thunderbolt display and the Mini DisplayPort->DVI converter.

Apple's notes one other caveat about the Thunderbolt display: older Mini DisplayPort displays won't light up if they're hooked directly into the Thunderbolt port on the newer LCD. Macworld's testing found that Mini DisplayPort LCDs can be added to a Thunderbolt chain and work as normal by hooking them into another Thunderbolt peripheral.

See: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/18/thunderbolt-display-daisy-chaining-spec-cleared-up/

Solution 2:

The Mini DisplayPort to DVI converter will only work when plugged directly into the MacBook Pro. You cannot plug it into a Thunderbolt Display for the purpose of daisy chaining. See this support article for details. Your only option of powering two displays via Thunderbolt alone is to purchase two Thunderbolt Displays.

Do you have a Retina MacBook Pro? If so connect the Syncmaster via the laptop's HDMI port. It should work (in theory) using an HDMI to DVI cable.