On Friday 20 June 2003 02:31 pm, you wrote:
> I'm assembling parts for my P4 project this summer and had hoped to use a
> 1997 vintage Dell box my son has given me.  I'm replacing the power supply
> with a ZALMAN 300W and have added a cooling fan (original box doesn't have
> one).  When I got to the front of the case I discovered Dell used a printed
> circuit board to carry the power switch, reset switch and LED's.   The
> wires come off on a 16 ribbon terminating in a 16 pin female connector.  Is
> it likely this connector will match up to a similar standard on a new P4
> mobo? I looked at the Soltek board I used last year and it's connectors
> were on a 30 pin set.  I hate to spend the money on a new box just because
> the buttons are connected differently.   As I recall all the appropriate
> connectors came with the new box I bought for the Athlon project last year,
> so I'm not sure what to do for connectors even if I could patch the
> wires:^(    Has anyone on the list ever solved this problem before?
>
> Bob Warasila
> [log in to unmask]  (home)
> [log in to unmask]   (work)
> [log in to unmask] (work)

Bob:
My experience is that there is no industry-wide standardization for these
connections, which is why non-OEM cases use separate leads rather than a
single multi-conductor cable. For example, one of my boards has a 20 pins,
the other has 22 pins. All is not lost, however. My bet is that you can use
preassembled jumpers to make the connection between the case and the
motherboard. Be sure to get them in a variety of colors. And, when you
install them, be sure to label them, and twist the pairs/triads/quads
together. Where to get? If you're buying the new board locally, they might
take pity on you and give a handful to you at no charge (worked for me); I've
also seen these jumpers at flea markets. The challenge is to find them with
the appropriate connectors on each end -- again, there are no universal
standards.

And, when you go through the drill of getting each lead on the correct
motherboard pin, you'll gain a deeper insight into why Dell uses a single
cable with a single connector.

Regards,
Carroll Grigsby

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