Building first PC problems - power switch

[Conquest10]

I finally decided to do it. I got everything in today and set off putting it all together. It seemed to easy and I knew something was up. The last thing left to do before powering it up was to hook up the switch to the motherboard. That's where the problem popped up. Please excuse the pictures. I hope you can tell what's going on. Here is the what the connector for the switch looks like:


The connector on the motherboard looks like this: (its the purple, red, yellow, green)


Is there an easy solution to this that doesn't involve having to buy a new case?

[Bob W]

I believe you can use a small jewelers screwdriver or something similar to release and remove the wires/sockets from the connector and then of course connect them to the motherboard. I have done this in the past with four pin computer case speaker connectors that wouldn't work on my motherboard.

[redwudz]

What's your motherboard, case model?

That would help considerably.

Usually the front panel connectors are separated by purpose, as there is really no standard for the hookup.

But, depending on the connector, you can remove the individual connectors by lifting up the plastic lock that holds the connectors in. I have had to do this with USB and Firewire connectors that didn't match my MB. A safety pin works well for this. Lift the plastic lock carefully and extract the bare connector. You have to know both the MB connectors and the case connector pinouts. You can rearrange them if needed in the connector.

Good news that the system MB connectors won't cause any damage if they are hooked up wrong. The connectors to the front panel:

Power switch
reset switch
power led indicator
hard drive indicator

Pay attention to the polarity on the LED indicators. No damage, they just won't work. Switch the leads.

Power and reset: Doesn't matter. They will work fine either way.

What you have to be careful with are the front panel Firewire and USB connectors, and maybe the front panel audio connectors. If you make a wrong connection there, you can cause some damage to the MB or the device. Be careful here.

[Conquest10]

Thanks guys for the replies. The motherboard is an Intel D945GTP. No front Firewire or USB connections. They're all just for the power, reset and HD and Power LED. How do I know which wire is which? There's 8 pins and only 6 wires.

EDIT: The case , I have no idea what model it is. I got an old computer and just parted it.

[MaDmiZe]

As far as the case...you'll have to trace colors back to where they came from...power, reset, hd led...ect since you don't have model or manufacture for specs.....
As far as motherboard...here is conector spec..
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/tp/tp_con.htm#9

[Conquest10]

No go. 4 of the 6 go to the LEDs so that leaves me 2 for the 4 pins. No combination of the 2 does anything.

[redwudz]

On the MB, if you connect the PWR pins together, the motherboard should fire up the power supply and start the system. Simple as that. If you have a PWR pushbutton on the case, hook it to those pins. If you have a reset switch, hook it to the reset pins. polarity doesn't matter on either.

If you have no reset switch, no big deal. You can always switch it off or unplug it if you need to reset.

You can always pull out the bare pins from the case connector and connect them that way. Some shrink tubing from a electronics supply store will work to insulate them if needed.

The LED indicators you can just change the polarity and they should work. It won't hurt anything if you get them backwards. Get the PWR switch working and worry about the rest later.

[Conquest10]

Are you talking about connecting the two wires to the power pins? That doesn't do anything either.

Is there a way to turn this thing on without the button?

[Bob W]

Are you talking about connecting the two wires to the power pins? That doesn't do anything either.

Is there a way to turn this thing on without the button?

Sure just short across the two pins labeled "PWR". I would just remove the wires from the case connector and plug them in where they need to be.

[redwudz]

Sure. Short the two MB power pins together. If you have one of those shorting clips from a MB, it will work. That will let the MB turn on the power supply.

If you then plug the AC power plug in and everything else is installed, the computer should start up.

[Conquest10]

I'm a little stupid in all this. What is a shorting clip?

[Bob W]

I'm a little stupid in all this. What is a shorting clip?

Like those little plastic things on the back of a hard drive you use to set the drive as a master or slave.

[Conquest10]

Can one of those be used for this?

[redwudz]

If it's the same spacing, sure. Some jumpers are smaller, but if it fits, it will work.

[Conquest10]

Damn. There must be somthing else wrong with it. That didn't work either.

You have experience with this motherboard?

[redwudz]

No, not that particular MB. But all MBs work the same for that. If the PS is hooked up properly and most of the peripherals are hooked up or plugged in; the CPU, the memory and one drive and the video card, it should start up. If not, change out the PS. If that doesn't work, you have a problem.

[Conquest10]

I can buy just the power switch? Any recommendations?

Is it normal for the standy by light on the motherboard to be blinking when I plug it in?

[Bob W]

Some power supplies have an on/off switch on the back so make sure that is set to on. If all the supply connectors are plugged in (not the drive connectors) and the cpu is installed correctly and you have the memory installed then shorting the power pins on the motherboard should turn on the supply.

[Faustus]

EDIT: The case , I have no idea what model it is. I got an old computer and just parted it.

An old Clone computer or an old name brand one?

[Conquest10]

The case was from an old Compaq Presario.

Is it normal for the light on the motherboard to be blinking when I plug it in?

[Faustus]

Thats likely your problem then, Propiatary cases do not always meet the same open standards that a store purchased case do. Thus the connectors don't exactly fit correctly.

As far as the blinking light, it depends on the board. Does it power on ok? The board manual should say exactly what the light is for.

[Conquest10]

The manual is horrible. The majority of the thongs are labeled with just a number without stating what the number means. However, this light is labeled as a standby light. It talks about making sure the light is on but doesn't say whether its a solid light or a blinking light.

[Faustus]

Is it blinking all the time or only when off?

[Conquest10]

Oh, I haven't been able to turn it on.I'm trying to find out what is causing the problem by going through everything.

[Faustus]

I know you don't want to hear this, but even though the light flashing if the power is off is LIKELY fine. You should probability get a real case and power supply for your own peace of mind.

[Conquest10]

OK, it has a 24 pin power connection. But, I notice in the manual there is a drawing that points to another 4 pin connector. Is that common? The 4-pin, I mean, in addition to the 24.

[Bob W]

OK, it has a 24 pin power connection. But, I notice in the manual there is a drawing that points to another 4 pin connector. Is that common? The 4-pin, I mean, in addition to the 24.

I think you need to connect both connectors. If your power supply doesn't have all the connectors then you will need to buy one that does (or just get a case with the correct supply).

[Conquest10]

Thanks all for your patience. Looks like I'm going to have to buy one. What type of case do I look for? This is what the additional connection looks like:

[Bob W]

Thanks all for your patience. Looks like I'm going to have to buy one. What type of case do I look for? This is what the additional connection looks like:

Yeah that's the power for the cpu. You need an Mid Tower ATX case and the power supply should have a 20 pin and 4 pin power connector like this one http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-152-019-05.JPG

[Conquest10]

Its a 24 pin though. And it has these additional 4 pins.