update, just used a usb c to a adapter and tried a different port and it worked??!?! the port isnt damaged cause it draws power and it definitely is supposed to transfer data, any ideas?
Hmm... on paper there shouldn't be any issues. In the BIOS is there a setting for legacy USB devices? If so turn that on/off and retest. It might also be with updating your BIOS.
use lspci to find out if a module (aka driver) is running and google the pci id's if there isn't one. the man page or google can show you how to do this.
alternatively, you could use dmesg to show you what happens (if anything) when you plug/unplug your device. if nothing happens then you'll still need to google your device's pci id's. to see if there's a module for it.
USB 1 and 2 use a set of 4 pins. It can only use those 4pins to transmit data.
USB 3 uses 9 pins : the 4 original pins and 5 more pins. It is backwards compatible with USB 1 and 2 because it can only use those four pins instead of the full array.
USB-C, however, uses 24 pins (2*12 pins to be exact). However, what makes no sense, is when using a USB-A to USB-C cable it does work only in one direction : from USB-A to USB-C.
But rest assured, you are not alone onnthis issue. I've had it, even when I did not want to tranfer data but just power : it does not work, whether on Windows or Linux...