Front panel connectors

[attilathehun1]

Ok, I don't need any wise cracks here about that I'm a noobie, OK! If you
have that to say, say it to the other noobie, not me.
Ok, there is a red wire and black wire on the tower front panel connector
to the mobo front panel connector. Which is positive and which is negative,
for the power switch? If I had to guess, I'd say the red is positive, and
the black is negative, just like on the car battery chargers. There are other
front panel connectors too, and those each have 2 wires, like the reset
switch, one is blue and the other white, which is positive and which is
negative? Then there is the hard drive LED, one is orange and the other is
white, which is positive and which negative. The last one is the micro sw.,
one is black and one is white, which is positive and which negative? Well,
that might be redundant. We already have a black and white switch. There are
a couple more, the speaker, which is 2 wires, black and white, even though
there are 4 prongs for the connector. The other one is a 3 prong connector,
which is the power LED, one is blue and one is white.
Ok, is that precise enough for a reply? I don't need any smart ass answers
here. If you know the answers, then I know your someone with experience. If
not, your just a jealous non-bite.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, attilathehun1

 

[Paul]

Ok, I don't need any wise cracks here about that I'm a noobie, OK! If you
have that to say, say it to the other noobie, not me.
Ok, there is a red wire and black wire on the tower front panel connector
to the mobo front panel connector. Which is positive and which is negative,
for the power switch? If I had to guess, I'd say the red is positive, and
the black is negative, just like on the car battery chargers. There are other
front panel connectors too, and those each have 2 wires, like the reset
switch, one is blue and the other white, which is positive and which is
negative? Then there is the hard drive LED, one is orange and the other is
white, which is positive and which negative. The last one is the micro sw.,
one is black and one is white, which is positive and which negative? Well,
that might be redundant. We already have a black and white switch. There are
a couple more, the speaker, which is 2 wires, black and white, even though
there are 4 prongs for the connector. The other one is a 3 prong connector,
which is the power LED, one is blue and one is white.
Ok, is that precise enough for a reply? I don't need any smart ass answers
here. If you know the answers, then I know your someone with experience. If
not, your just a jealous non-bite.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, attilathehun1

Make and model of computer case ?

Make and model of motherboard ?

In a few cases, you may find a mismatch in the span of the connector,
versus the span of the interface on the front panel header. For example,
on proprietary motherboards (inside HP, Dell, Gateway type computers),
the wiring may all be 2 pin with 0.1" between pins. Yet, on some
computer cases, the SPKR wire has two wires with 0.3" between them.

As long as you don't have a problem like that, the wiring is
relatively easy.

1) For Power switch and Reset switch, the switch is not polarized.
The contacts are floating, and you can ignore the polarity when
hooking it up. It won't matter.

2) For Power LED, Hard Drive LED, Message LED or the like, the
LED *is* polarized. But there is no harm to the LED, if you
get it wrong. If the LED won't light up, simply flip the
connector 180 degrees and try again. The LEDs all have a
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) rating of 5 volts or more, and
can safely be reversed without damage. That is why they use
a current limited 5V source to drive them.

The terminals on the computer case speaker, are floating
with respect to chassis ground, so again, there should not
be a polarity issue with SPKR wiring.

In terms of "which wire is the minus or negative", what
I've noticed is that the "common" color used on the wire,
is likely the negative one. For example, if you had a
dozen wires in your hand, and six were white colored, then
the white could be the "negative" or "minus" color. The
positive wires tend to use different colors, and are
more uniquely colored than the negative ones. While it
would be nice if they stuck with a black color for the
negative side of the connector, the case makers don't seem
to adhere to that rule.

HTH,
Paul

 

[attilathehun1]

The tower is a Thermaltake VA8000B Series, part # VA8003 BWS, the mobo is a
GIGABYTE S-series Model # EP35C-DS3R, the E is dark green, the D is orange,
and the rest of the letters and numbers are light green. Is that precise
enough? LOL
-- Ok, I just read the rest of your reply and didn't jump the gun by sending
this reply and then another one.
Alright, so when it wouldn't fire up the first time and few times later,
it wasn't because I had the power switch backwards, your saying it doesn't
matter which way it is? The only reason I'm asking is because in the mobo
manual it stats the + and - on the pictured diagram of the front panel mobo
connectors. I usually stick them on where the outer prongs the face is
pointing outward, towards the end edge of the mobo. With respect to the inner
prongs, for example, where the power switch would go, I point the face inward
towards the middle or away from the edge. That's been a general rule I've
used on the dozen or so PCs I've built and fixed. I see though where or why
your saying about the general colors of the wires. Most are black and white
or white and another color. So, on the black and white, black is negative and
white is positive? Then on the rest that have white and other colors, the
white is negative and the other colors are positive? That seems outta whack.
Why shouldn't all the white be negative, since all have white in them, and
black and the other colors are positive? Wait a sec, let me check, it's dark
now, 10:30 pm, brb. Ok, they are all white with another color, except the
speaker, which is black and red.
I just looked at the front USB1 and USB2, and the prongs on the mobo have 2
rows of prongs, and the tower USB1 and USB2 connectors only have 1 row or
only can go on 1 row. Do you understand what I mean? They are too skiny or
not 8 holes, but only 4 holes. You see? Which prongs do I stick them on, the
one set that has the full set of prongs or the side that has one prong
missing? There are 2 rows of prongs with one side missing one prong or one
prong light. No, I just checked, there are 2 rows with 9 prongs, each. One
row has 5 prongs and 1 row only has 4 prongs. Which would you stick the
Thermaltake USB connector onto? When I tried to fire it up the first time, I
stuck them onto the 5 prong side, not the 4 prong side. It seems like it
would fit the ear mike would fit there. Oh, maybe that's why there is only
one connector for the ear mike. I should stick the ear mike on the those
connectors and the AZALIA and the AC'97 then would both have a place to go.
Also, both the USB1 and USB2 would fit on the connector I stuck the AZALIA
on. I just looked again and unhooked the AZALIA Thermaltake ear mike
connector and it's connected to the F-Audio, right next to the back panel
connectors where you would plug in the speakers. You know, you plug the
speakers into the green connector.
Ok, this is getting long winded and I don't want to confuse you. I'm
thinking that I probably have the ear mike plugs in the right spot. In fact
the USB1 and USB2 on the mobo should connect to the Thermaltake USB1 and USB2
plugs. Right? Oh no, forget all this last part about the AZALIA and AC'97
connectors. I see they can only go onto the F-Audio. I'm just wondering which
one, and someone told me in a reply some time ago, use the AZALIA instead of
the AC'97, if there is only one connector.
Ok, also I see on the USB1 and USB2, well on the USB2, I can't find the
USB1 right now in the tangle of wires at 10:55 pm with the ceiling light. I
see 5 connectors on the one row so I figure it must go onto the 5 prongs not
the 4 prongs of the 9 prong set connector.
I think this is getting to be unending. LOL
Any more help would be greatly appreciated.
attilathehun1

 

[Paul]

The tower is a Thermaltake VA8000B Series, part # VA8003 BWS, the mobo is a
GIGABYTE S-series Model # EP35C-DS3R, the E is dark green, the D is orange,
and the rest of the letters and numbers are light green. Is that precise
enough? LOL

-- Ok, I just read the rest of your reply and didn't jump the gun by sending
this reply and then another one.

Alright, so when it wouldn't fire up the first time and few times later,
it wasn't because I had the power switch backwards, your saying it doesn't
matter which way it is? The only reason I'm asking is because in the mobo
manual it stats the + and - on the pictured diagram of the front panel mobo
connectors. I usually stick them on where the outer prongs the face is
pointing outward, towards the end edge of the mobo. With respect to the inner
prongs, for example, where the power switch would go, I point the face inward
towards the middle or away from the edge. That's been a general rule I've
used on the dozen or so PCs I've built and fixed. I see though where or why
your saying about the general colors of the wires. Most are black and white
or white and another color.

The power switch polarity does not matter. Either way works. Just make sure
the cable goes on the right two pins. If the board doesn't start, chances are
you got the wrong two pins.

So, on the black and white, black is negative and
white is positive? Then on the rest that have white and other colors, the
white is negative and the other colors are positive? That seems outta whack.
Why shouldn't all the white be negative, since all have white in them, and
black and the other colors are positive? Wait a sec, let me check, it's dark
now, 10:30 pm, brb. Ok, they are all white with another color, except the
speaker, which is black and red.

I just looked at the front USB1 and USB2, and the prongs on the mobo have 2
rows of prongs, and the tower USB1 and USB2 connectors only have 1 row or
only can go on 1 row. Do you understand what I mean? They are too skiny or
not 8 holes, but only 4 holes. You see? Which prongs do I stick them on, the
one set that has the full set of prongs or the side that has one prong
missing? There are 2 rows of prongs with one side missing one prong or one
prong light. No, I just checked, there are 2 rows with 9 prongs, each. One
row has 5 prongs and 1 row only has 4 prongs. Which would you stick the
Thermaltake USB connector onto? When I tried to fire it up the first time, I
stuck them onto the 5 prong side, not the 4 prong side. It seems like it
would fit the ear mike would fit there. Oh, maybe that's why there is only
one connector for the ear mike. I should stick the ear mike on the those
connectors and the AZALIA and the AC'97 then would both have a place to go.
Also, both the USB1 and USB2 would fit on the connector I stuck the AZALIA
on. I just looked again and unhooked the AZALIA Thermaltake ear mike
connector and it's connected to the F-Audio, right next to the back panel
connectors where you would plug in the speakers. You know, you plug the
speakers into the green connector.

Ok, this is getting long winded and I don't want to confuse you. I'm
thinking that I probably have the ear mike plugs in the right spot. In fact
the USB1 and USB2 on the mobo should connect to the Thermaltake USB1 and USB2
plugs. Right? Oh no, forget all this last part about the AZALIA and AC'97
connectors. I see they can only go onto the F-Audio. I'm just wondering which
one, and someone told me in a reply some time ago, use the AZALIA instead of
the AC'97, if there is only one connector.

Ok, also I see on the USB1 and USB2, well on the USB2, I can't find the
USB1 right now in the tangle of wires at 10:55 pm with the ceiling light. I
see 5 connectors on the one row so I figure it must go onto the 5 prongs not
the 4 prongs of the 9 prong set connector.

I think this is getting to be unending. LOL
Any more help would be greatly appreciated.
attilathehun1

I found a manual here. At least parts of this will be similar to the manual
that came with your computer case.

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Uploa...645-4d98-8125-5c4a99f98b0b/VA8000_en_0426.zip

What I can see so far, is no consistent color scheme in the wiring. Now,
the fact that the manual uses B&W pictures doesn't bother me in the least
So I don't see them following any evident rules.

OK, the first thing I'm going to suggest, is "keep it simple". You're getting
carried away with the wiring job. Let me state this on a separate line

"There is very little that has to be wired up, to make your new motherboard work"

There, I said it.

The minimum to make that motherboard work, is the two wire power switch. You
don't need to hook up RESET. You don't need to hook up any LEDs. You don't
need USB or Firewire or audio. Just the power switch. The thing is, right now,
you need proof that pile of crap works. Imagine, if you spend the next two hours,
carefully wiring the USB and Firewire, you push the power button and nothing
happens. You'll be madder than hell.

So keep it simple, to get the project off on a good footing. Connect

1) Main 24 pin power connector.
2) The ATX12V 2x2 square power connector. That connector has two yellow wires
and two black wires. Color consistency on these is good in the industry.
If it doesn't have two yellow and two black, then tell me what color they
are.

3) Connect the PWR switch from the front panel to the F_PANEL header.

4) Since you need some feedback about how things are going, you can
also connect the SPKR wire pair to the F_PANEL header as well. If
there is more than one beep from the speaker, that is likely an error code.

OK, now you're ready to try it. You have your power supply, motherboard and
computer case, and minimal wiring. If you have the processor and heatsink/fan
as well, so much the better. (If you just want to test the power switch, the
processor and heatsink/fan don't have to be present.)

Set the rear switch ON. Push the power button. Now you should hear fans,
and fans means there is +12V present.

If you had no RAM or no video card, but the processor was present,
then you'll hear a repeating beep pattern on the system speaker.

Once the RAM and video are connected, keyboard and mouse connected, monitor
plugged into the video card, you should see the BIOS appear on the screen.
At the very least, you'd want to enter the BIOS to set the boot order,
based on whatever storage devices are connected. I would place the CD/DVD
drive before the hard drive, in the boot order, in preparation for Windows
installation.

Before adding or removing any hardware, don't forget to turn the power
supply off at the back of the computer. That is to remove +5VSB and
any derived voltages, such as 3VSB (that is regulated down from +5VSB).
Your RAM could be damaged, if it is inserted or removed while
+5VSB is still running.

I'm only including the following for later. For after you've tested that
it is worthwhile connecting the rest of the stuff. If you cannot
get the motherboard started, that other crap wiring will only get in
the way.

*******

A USB 2x5 is really two USB ports together. Five pins on each side
is a complete interface.

Power, D-, D+, GND is one complete USB interface.

If we lay two of them down, it looks like this. Some wiring jobs will
provide a 1x4 piece of plastic, going to a front panel USB connector.
Others might offer a full 2x5 thing to plug in. If for any reason the
USB ports don't work, then start investigating what is really connected
to the NC pin, as some systems actually have a signal called OC# wired
to that pin. IF OC# gets grounded, the computer will complain about
a non-existent USB overload.

GND, DX+, DX-, Power
X X X X <---- One USB port here

X X X X X <---- One USB port here
NC GND, DY+, DY-, Power

*******

I don't see a Firewire header on that motherboard, so the Firewire cable
will be left disconnected, and will not work.

*******

For audio, there are five wires that need to be connected. You do
not connect the Thermaltake Return_R and Return_L. They are not used
on an HDaudio capable motherboard. Also, heed the warning in the manual,
where it says to read "Configuring 2/4/5.1/7.1-Channel Audio", as
there is a tick box in the sound control panel that needs to be
set properly, so jack detection functions correctly. If you don't
follow the procedure, then when a plug is inserted, there will be
no response.

F_AUDIO

MIC_IN ---- MIC X X GND --- Ground
MIC_VCC --- MIC_POWER X X NC
EAR_R ----- Lineout_R X X NC
NC X
EAR_L ----- Lineout_L X X NC

HTH,
Paul

 

[attilathehun1]

Ok, I switched e-mails and now I can post questions and replies now, again on
my Dell 8300.
I downloaded your reply. This reply, at least the first part about not
plugging in all the front panel connectors, was smart. Now, I have this reply
in My Documents.
Ok, lets give this a shot and see what's up.
I'll plug in the power switch and see if it fires up. Do you need a monitor
to see if it fires up? I mean do I need to plug this into a monitor to see if
it fires up?
I'll read over your reply again. Unless you want to tell me shortly in a
few words what I need to do to fire it up. For ex., make sure the hard drive
is plugged in correctly, and then the fans hooked up, the power switch
plugged in, and wtf.
I'll wait for your response, especially on the monitor.
Thanks, attilathehun1

 

[Paul]

Ok, I switched e-mails and now I can post questions and replies now, again on
my Dell 8300.
I downloaded your reply. This reply, at least the first part about not
plugging in all the front panel connectors, was smart. Now, I have this reply
in My Documents.
Ok, lets give this a shot and see what's up.
I'll plug in the power switch and see if it fires up. Do you need a monitor
to see if it fires up? I mean do I need to plug this into a monitor to see if
it fires up?
I'll read over your reply again. Unless you want to tell me shortly in a
few words what I need to do to fire it up. For ex., make sure the hard drive
is plugged in correctly, and then the fans hooked up, the power switch
plugged in, and wtf.
I'll wait for your response, especially on the monitor.

You can skip any steps you want. I usually go through more steps than this,
but I don't want to type too much stuff. Pick the step that is closest
to how much you've got assembled right now.

1) Motherboard
power switch
power supply

Switching on, should cause the power supply fan to run. This is the
simplest test you can do.

2) Motherboard
power switch
power supply
Processor with heatsink/fan
Computer case SPKR

Switching on, should cause the computer case speaker to beep that
the RAM is missing. If you add RAM now, it might beep that the
video card is missing. Once RAM and video are present, other
alarm conditions can show on the monitor. (If the BIOS knows the
video is working, it can display an error message on the BIOS screen.)

3) Motherboard
power switch
power supply
Processor with heatsink/fan
Computer case SPKR
RAM
Video card
Monitor connected to video card
Keyboard and mouse

Switching on, should cause the BIOS to show on the screen, and a
complaint that there is no hard drive connected.

4) Motherboard
power switch
power supply
Processor with heatsink/fan
Computer case SPKR
RAM
Video card
Monitor connected to video card
Keyboard and mouse
Hard drive
CDROM
Floppy drive

Plug a memtest86+ floppy disk or a memtest86+ CDROM into
the CDROM drive. Try to boot into memtest86+. Make sure the
RAM is error free. Test the RAM for two passes at least.
Press ESC to quit memtest86+.

Next step, is to boot the Windows installer CD, and install
Windows. Don't boot the Windows installer, until your RAM
is completely error free. If you need help with this
issue (RAM errors), post back.

HTH,
Paul