Custom Computer

[art]

Not sure if this can be done, easily.

My client had some older Sony computer running Windows ME. I went to
upgrade it with some parts I had laying around, some more recent
motherboards, more memory, DVD drive, etc. I am using the same case
because it fits where he wants to put it.

Anyhow, the motherboard fits perfectly, except that the front panel
cables are different. On the Sony they are all enclosed in this nice
plastic module, and the pins do not match up with the pins on the new
motherboard.

Anything that can be done easily, shorty of cutting cables and stuff
like that??

 

[art]

Not sure if this can be done, easily.

My client had some older Sony computer running Windows ME.  I went to
upgrade it with some parts I had laying around, some more recent
motherboards, more memory, DVD drive, etc.   I am using the same case
because it fits where he wants to put it.

Anyhow, the motherboard fits perfectly, except that the front panel
cables are different.  On the Sony they are all enclosed in this nice
plastic module, and the pins do not match up with the pins on the new
motherboard.

Anything that can be done easily, shorty of cutting cables and stuff
like that??

I should add that the older motherboard is a WMT-LE and the new one is
a P4P800-VM

 

[Paul]

Not sure if this can be done, easily.

My client had some older Sony computer running Windows ME. I went to
upgrade it with some parts I had laying around, some more recent
motherboards, more memory, DVD drive, etc. I am using the same case
because it fits where he wants to put it.

Anyhow, the motherboard fits perfectly, except that the front panel
cables are different. On the Sony they are all enclosed in this nice
plastic module, and the pins do not match up with the pins on the new
motherboard.

Anything that can be done easily, shorty of cutting cables and stuff
like that??

The diagram at the bottom of this page, shows how a wire and crimped
pin can be removed (backed out) from a 0.1" center to center housing.

http://frontx.com/head_con.html

FrontX also carries a wide variety of cable assemblies. This
one for example, would allow a patch panel style rewiring of
some cable assemblies. I wouldn't do this, but this is just
to illustrate the concept. (This may leave bare exposed metal,
which is why it may need something like some shrink wrap tubing
added to it, to prevent problems.)

http://www.frontx.com/pro/c213.html

To do a nice neat job, you can buy the plastic housings
in various sizes, as well as the female crimp pins you'd need
to re-terminate cable assemblies. So they have the parts to
do all sorts of stuff. You can use a spot of solder on the
crimp pins, if you have any doubts about your ability to
make a good crimp. There is probably a proper tool for
crimping these pins, but I just mangle them with a pair
of pliers As long as the resulting assembly is still
slim enough to snap into the housing, it'll work fine.

http://www.frontx.com/order_c.html

I have one electronics store in town (not a RadioShack), and
they occasionally have components like that on the rack as well.
For example, I managed to get enough stuff, so I could put
three pin connectors on the end of fan cables (so I could buy
case fans without connectors on the end, and terminate them
myself).

Paul

 

[art]

The diagram at the bottom of this page, shows how a wire and crimped
pin can be removed (backed out) from a 0.1" center to center housing.

http://frontx.com/head_con.html

FrontX also carries a wide variety of cable assemblies. This
one for example, would allow a patch panel style rewiring of
some cable assemblies. I wouldn't do this, but this is just
to illustrate the concept. (This may leave bare exposed metal,
which is why it may need something like some shrink wrap tubing
added to it, to prevent problems.)

http://www.frontx.com/pro/c213.html

To do a nice neat job, you can buy the plastic housings
in various sizes, as well as the female crimp pins you'd need
to re-terminate cable assemblies. So they have the parts to
do all sorts of stuff. You can use a spot of solder on the
crimp pins, if you have any doubts about your ability to
make a good crimp. There is probably a proper tool for
crimping these pins, but I just mangle them with a pair
of pliers As long as the resulting assembly is still
slim enough to snap into the housing, it'll work fine.

http://www.frontx.com/order_c.html

I have one electronics store in town (not a RadioShack), and
they occasionally have components like that on the rack as well.
For example, I managed to get enough stuff, so I could put
three pin connectors on the end of fan cables (so I could buy
case fans without connectors on the end, and terminate them
myself).

    Paul

Well, even worse, it looks like not only is the pinout different,
which from what Paul says is not a big issue, but how they connect is
a bit weird.

If I am reading this right, normally the speaker has 4 connectors,
with 2 being used, the first and last. Well, this WMT-LE seems to
have 3 connected. Also, from what it looks like, the power switch
has only 1 wire, which is not possible I would think.....

Is what I am doing possible, because if not, I'll just tell him no and
get a new case......

 

[Paul]

Well, even worse, it looks like not only is the pinout different,
which from what Paul says is not a big issue, but how they connect is
a bit weird.

If I am reading this right, normally the speaker has 4 connectors,
with 2 being used, the first and last. Well, this WMT-LE seems to
have 3 connected. Also, from what it looks like, the power switch
has only 1 wire, which is not possible I would think.....

Is what I am doing possible, because if not, I'll just tell him no and
get a new case......

For one wire to work on the power switch, the second connection
would be made via ground, flowing through the metal chassis.
(In the same way that automobile wiring can use the metal
chassis as a return path.) Computer cases don't normally do
that. Normally, the power switch on the computer case is
isolated from the chassis (with plastic). And then, two wires
are needed coming from the switch. Isolating the switch is better
from an electrostatic discharge point of view. (As long as the
plastic is thick enough, the ESD cannot discharge.)

In terms of keeping the computer case, it all depends
on how sentimentally attached the owner is. You can
always hack it to bits, to make it work.

The one wire power switch can still work. The header on the
P4P800-VM would consist of PWRBTN# and GROUND. You'd connect
the single wire from the switch to PWRBTN#. As long as
PWRBTN# goes to ground level momentarily, when the power
switch is pressed, it would start the computer OK. When
I use "#" in a signal name, it means the signal is active
when the voltage is near ground level.

I cannot tell you what the deal is with the speaker. We
know a speaker works, by running a little current through
the coil on the speaker. That takes two signal wires (because
the coil on a speaker, is normally electrically isolated
from the metal framework of the speaker).

Notice, on the P4P800-VM PANEL diagram, they actually have
available +5, GND, GND, SPKR in that four pin area. The
abundance of signals makes it possible to put an audio
power amplifier on those four pins (with the amplifier
powered from +5V and GROUND), which to me seems completely
pointless for a "beep" speaker. Maybe I'm missing something.
As you state, normally the "first and last" pins, are the
ones that connect to the two speaker wires. In this case,
the speaker connects to +5V and SPEAKER pins. The cases I have
here, would be making no connection to the middle
two GROUND pins.

Maybe if you look around the Sony speaker scheme,
you can see what they're up to. (Like, is there a
separate PCB driving the speaker ?)

I've had to move the wiring on my current computer
case, for my speaker. My case uses a four pin SPKR
connector. My new motherboard has speaker pins that
are 0.1" apart. So I had to take a hobby knife, and
move one crimp pin over, in the plastic shell, to
be able to plug my old computer case, into my new
motherboard. Due to the lack of standards, sooner
or later you're going to run into stuff like that.

Paul

 

[1D10T]

Not sure if this can be done, easily.

My client had some older Sony computer running Windows ME. I went to
upgrade it with some parts I had laying around, some more recent
motherboards, more memory, DVD drive, etc. I am using the same case
because it fits where he wants to put it.

Anyhow, the motherboard fits perfectly, except that the front panel
cables are different. On the Sony they are all enclosed in this nice
plastic module, and the pins do not match up with the pins on the new
motherboard.

Anything that can be done easily, shorty of cutting cables and stuff
like that??

If you're doing this free of charge, are you willing to spend the time? If
he's paying you it would make more sense to him to get a case that will
allow the necessary connections.